Understanding and Doing Successful Research: Data Collection and Analysis for the Social Sciences [1 ed.] 9781408229224

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Understanding and Doing Successful Research

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Understanding and Doing Successful Research Data Collection and Analysis for the Social Sciences

Shaun Best

13 Routledge Taylor & Francis Croup LONDON AND NEW YORK

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ISBN 978-1-4082-2922-4 QCL

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Typeset in 9.5/12.5pt Giovanni by 35

Brief contents

Acknowledgements

xiii

1

Getting started

1

2

The ethics of social research

19

3

Searching and reviewing the literature

39

4

Secondary analysis – research using other people’s data

59

5

Interviews

75

6

The case study

95

7

Ethnographic approaches

117

8

Observation, participant observation and observational inference

139

9

Biographical and autobiographical approaches

159

10 Documentary and narrative analysis

179

11 Measurement and statistical inference

205

12 What is a sample survey?

233

13 Mixed methods research

267

14 Evaluation research and experiments

287

15 Successfully completing the research project

307

Index

315

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Contents

Acknowledgements

xiii

Getting started Introduction What is research? Where and how do you start? Coming up with a researchable research question The rationale Objectivity Action research A literature review Identifying variables and indicators So I don’t have to do a questionnaire then? The ‘conventional’ stages in the design and execution of a research project Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

1 1 3 3 5 8 10 11 12 13

2

The ethics of social research Introduction Why research ethics are important to you Informed consent Committees and guidelines Confidentiality What makes an ethical researcher? Tearoom Trade What type of researcher are you? Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

19 19 20 21 23 27 28 30 34 35 36 37

3

Searching and reviewing the literature Introduction Constructing literature reviews

39 39 40

1

14 15 16 17

viii

Contents

Why do I need to justify my research question? Assessment issues Identifying variables and indicators Journals Textbooks The internet When to end your search of the literature Plagiarism Wikipedia Quoting and referencing Developing a bibliography Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

40 41 41 42 44 45 47 48 51 52 53 54 55 56

4

Secondary analysis – research using other people’s data Introduction Durkheim on suicide Crime statistics Databases and data sets Conceptual and technical instruments Categories of secondary data Historical data Advantages and disadvantages of secondary analysis Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

59 59 61 63 63 65 65 71 71 73 73 74

5

Interviews Introduction Issues to be aware of Structured and unstructured interviews How to conduct the interview Coding and data analysis: structured interviews In-depth interviews The funnel Collaborative interviewing Selecting the sample Group interviews and focus groups Online interviews Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

75 75 76 78 79 81 82 87 87 88 89 90 92 92 93

Contents

6

The case study Introduction Forms of case study Styles of case study Emic v. etic approaches The critical incident approach Theoretical and empirical generalisations Application to qualitative interviews Criticisms of the case study approach Analysis and interpretation of the case Correspondence and pattern matching Avoiding errors and using verification procedures Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

95 95 97 98 101 103 105 106 106 107 108 110 112 113 114

7

Ethnographic approaches Introduction Ethical issues and trust Verstehen Empathy and shared feeling Social action Tertiary understanding Guidelines to ensure authenticity Learning the ropes Marginality Developing an ethnographic presence Going native Discourse Practice – the unit of analysis Redefining the concept of ‘site’: ethnography on the internet Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

117 117 119 120 122 122 123 125 126 127 128 128 129 130 133 136 136 137

8

Observation, participant observation and observational inference Defining participant observation Understanding human meaning systems through observation Problems with participant observation Reading and recording observations Covert methods Observation in overt research projects Summary of viewpoints Data analysis

139 139 141 144 144 145 149 149 152

ix

x

Contents

9

Thematic content analysis Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

153 154 155 156

Biographical and autobiographical approaches Introduction Methods of data collection Providing concrete examples Advantages of biographical methods Discourse and narrative The feminist perspective The ‘neurotic narrator’ and other problems The problem of generalisation What is narrative analysis? Data analysis in biographical and autobiographical research The ethical issues Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

159 159 161 162 165 166 167 168 169 170 174 175 175 176 176

10 Documentary and narrative analysis Introduction Semiology Content analysis Diaries Letters Visual methods Analysing photographic data Case studies and documentary methods Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

179 179 182 185 188 190 193 197 198 200 201 201

11 Measurement and statistical inference Introduction Common measures to identify central tendency Variance and standard deviation Classification Measurement Scientific parsimony Why do we construct categories? Probability Scales of measurement

205 205 206 207 210 211 213 214 216 220

Contents

Complete inference Producing knowledge from research findings Correlations, causes and mechanisms SPSS Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

222 223 225 229 230 230 230

12 What is a sample survey? Introduction How the social survey began Planning: how to go about conducting surveys What is sampling? The Institute of Community Studies Questionnaires Non-response How to distribute the questionnaire Devising questions Descriptive and analytical surveys Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

233 233 234 234 235 240 249 250 254 255 258 262 263 264

13 Mixed methods research General characteristics of mixed methods research At what stage does the mixing of methods take place? Characteristics of mixed methods research Why mix methods and/or methodologies? Crystallisation Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

267 267 269 271 273 277 282 282 283

14 Evaluation research and experiments What is evaluation? Evaluation: formative and summative Evaluation: internal and external Central features of evaluation research Experiments Summary and report writing Writing an evaluation report Conclusion Erica’s research project Bibliography

287 287 289 290 291 297 300 301 304 304 305

xi

xii

Contents

15 Successfully completing the research project Introduction The structure of the report Referencing Where and when to start the writing up Index

307 307 308 311 313 315

Acknowledgements

The publishers would like to thank the anonymous panel of reviewers for their support with the development of the manuscript. The publishers would further like to thank the author for the dedication and skill he demonstrated in producing this book. We are also grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Extracts on pages 84−5 from ‘Looking at People and Asking “Why?”: An ethnographic approach to religious education’, Religious Education, 96(3), 386−94 (Crain, MA 2001), reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandf.co.uk/ journals). Extracts on pages 225−8 from ‘Ethical Coherence’, Philosophical Psychology 11(4), 405−22 (Thagard, P 1998), reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals). In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

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1 Getting started

By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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deductively and conducting research inductively t
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Introduction What can this book offer you? It takes it for granted that you are new to research and that you have no previous knowledge of data collection or data analysis. This book also imagines that you have been asked to complete a research project and that you do not know what to do. In addition, it guesses that some of you are starting to panic because you do not really know what you are doing! Many social science textbooks, especially those written for 16–19-year-old students contain a chapter on research methods, but usually this is little more than lists of the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of data collection and nothing about data analysis. In addition, because those who write textbooks for 16–19-year-olds are probably not active researchers themselves, these books tend not to give practical advice on how do a research project. This book will help you to think about doing research projects of your own but perhaps, more importantly, it will help you to develop a range of skills and abilities that will allow you to evaluate more fully other people’s research projects in relation

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Chapter 1 Getting started

to data collection, data analysis and inference (i.e. what you can deduce or conclude from their results).

Thinkpiece You might want to ask yourself these questions before you read on: whose research do you admire? And why do you admire it? If you cannot answer these questions because you have only read summaries of research findings in textbooks then you need to change your reading habits. The following chapter on how to conduct a literature review will explain how to search for relevant research in academic journals and other relevant sources and why you need to do so.

Note on assessment The chapters in this book will outline the central concepts, techniques and perspectives that underpin the process of doing research. However, if you are a student doing a research project there will be a set of assignment criteria that should clearly explain what you have to do in order to complete the assignment successfully. Always read the assessment criteria! You need to understand fully these criteria and ask the member of staff responsible for setting the assessment if you are unsure of any aspect. What type of data is the assignment looking for: statistical data, an understanding of the respondent’s motives and intentions, is a large sample of people to be surveyed or is a case study all that is required?

This book will provide you with an evaluation of the most popular methods of data collection and data analysis that are used within the social sciences. It will help you to write a justification for your choice of data collection methods and your choice of data analysis techniques. The book will also give you practical advice on each step of the research process from having your initial idea for a question to investigate to writing the concluding paragraph of your research report. In addition, most research methods textbooks do not explain to their readers how much fun you can have doing a research project, how imaginative you can be in choosing your methods of data collection and in explaining to your reader how you made sense of the data you have collected, and how innovative you can be in the way in which you build your explanations about how and why people behave in the way that they do.

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What is research? Where and how do you start? Research allows us to answer questions about the world, about things we do not understand or that we find interesting or disturbing. We conduct our research in a systematic manner that allows us to make a connection between the observations we make or the data we collect and theories about the world. Broadly speaking, within the social sciences there are three forms of research: 1. policy-oriented research that has a focus on investigating problems that are of social concern and have the attention of policy makers; 2. action research that has a focus on investigating problems from the point of view of a practitioner; 3. theoretically-oriented research that has a focus on understanding or explaining some aspect of why people behave in the way that they do. Much research in the social sciences builds explanations deductively; this means that we have an existing theory in mind, develop a hypothesis and then test the hypothesis by collecting data. However, research can also be conducted inductively whereby we make an observation, collect data that allows us to make a generalisation and then produce a theory to explain the observations we have made. If we believe that there is a link between two or more variables (such as educational under-achievement and social class) or that one variable has an influence over another variable (that educational under-achievement is caused by social class), we can produce a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a statement about what we believe to be the link or connection between two or more variables that is both systematic and in a form that can be tested by collecting data.

Coming up with a researchable research question What is research? We conduct research projects because we feel that some aspect of social life needs explaining. The decision about what to research and why we should do so are not made within a vacuum but will be influenced by a range of factors. Where do research questions come from? The researcher has an intuitive idea about some aspect of the world. This may have come about by a chance observation or from reading other people’s research. Hans Reichenbach (1938) made the important distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification. The ideas or questions of what we research and the hypotheses we invent are often very personal and the processes of inventing research questions or hypotheses are usually not very systematic or logical in nature: this is the context of discovery. However, once we have the research idea or hypothesis in mind we can then proceed in a logical and systematic manner: this is the

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Chapter 1 Getting started

context of justification. In other words, how we test a theory by looking at the empirical evidence is independent from how the theory was invented in the first instance. This chapter will discuss where ideas for research projects come from and give some advice on common approaches adopted by students and others on how to think about potential research projects. Sources such as your own perceptions of the world around you, news stories, personal problems that may also be public issues, local issues or issues that emerge from your own reading etc. are all potential sources of ideas for research projects. In addition, research ideas can come from personal observation, personal ideas, opinions, events or incidents you have seen on television, or that you have had reported to you by friends. When you read it is important to read critically. Ask yourself if the current research is adequate and if it is not, why is it lacking? Is there a need for more research in this area? Also whilst reading, try to identify conflicting or ambiguous research findings; again there may be an opportunity to conduct research in the area. Often such readings or observations make you want to reflect upon their meaning, placing the issue or incident into the wider context of research to get a fuller or more valid view of the meaning and significance of the events. As humans we find it difficult to divorce ourselves from the moral aspects of our research projects. Clare Graydon (2006) for example has looked at the issue of a person’s consent to a sexual relationship and whether that can be uninformed if that person has an intellectual disability: she opens her paper with the example below that she then goes on to put into a legal and conceptual framework.

Thinkpiece Read the passage below and speculate on the reasons why Clare Graydon wanted to conduct research in this area. ‘In 1981, a 23 year old woman with a mental age of 10 years 8 months went to a country fair. She had no sexual experience and had received no sex education. At the fair, she spent a considerable amount of time and money at the hoopla stall trying to win a large green frog. The attendant struck up a conversation with her, and after a time asked if she wanted to ‘make love’. She agreed and accompanied him to a caravan where intercourse took place. He gave her the toy frog and she returned to the fair, where she chatted happily with friends, showed no distress, and spoke to the man again. Later a second fair attendant approached and offered her a toy panda in exchange for sex. She accompanied him to a truck and intercourse took place a second time. Again she was not distressed after the incident, but when a third man attempted to have sex with her she resisted and ran off. By the time her mother arrived to collect her she was visibly upset. This narrative raises a number of questions concerning the sexual expression of persons with intellectual impairment. Was this woman capable of consent? What are, or what should be, the markers of capacity to consent? In particular, what facts should a person know if they are to be deemed capable of giving consent to a sexual act?’ (Graydon 2006: 1).

The rationale

Reports of critical incidents in people’s lives, or even personal events, can also be used as the starting point for a research project. Best (2007) made use of an injury sustained in a road traffic accident to develop a critique of the postmoden conception of pain: ‘This paper is an evaluation of the literature on pain in the light of an incident that left me temporarily hospitalized and in pain. Purely by chance the incident gave me the opportunity to discuss issues from the body of writing on pain with other individuals in pain at the time of contact. However, because no notes were taken at the time of meeting these people and no permission was sought to use their accounts of pain, their views are not directly quoted. The paper is not simply a personal account of the experience of pain, but draws upon a ‘critical incident’ approach that is well established in the fields of nursing, midwifery and education but is not used in the field of disability studies’ (Best 2007: 162). People feel they have to do research for a variety of reasons. In your working life you might be expected to conduct staff appraisals, evaluate the day-to-day activities of your organisation, review, update and monitor processes and performance of policies, programmes and procedures within organisations, and even assess the performance of organisations themselves. As a student, you may have to complete an assignment successfully to progress on your chosen degree programme. However we choose to define research, at an abstract level it involves a process of well-organised data collection and data analysis that contributes to knowledge. Why do people involve themselves in data collection? In our everyday lives we make judgements about the situations in which we find ourselves. We have to make judgements about the validity of our perceptions: how do we know what we know and why do we perceive things in a certain way? Truthful research is an attempt to find evidence to support arguments and provide a more convincing account that is more substantial than our unsupported personal opinion. In other words, research allows an individual to make the short intellectual journey from ‘I know’ to ‘it is known’. There is a rich variety of data collection methods and data analysis that we can draw upon to make that short intellectual journey. At the outset of the research process you need to be aware of your own skills and abilities as a researcher, the type of data you wish to collect and the way in which you want the findings to be presented. In many cases how we choose to collect and make sense of our data is up to us. However, for students who have to complete a research project for an assignment there may be a very limited choice.

The rationale A good starting point for any research project is for the researcher to write a rationale. The rationale is an explanation or statement that explains the reasons why you as the

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researcher are conducting the research project. Your rationale should include the personal reasons for choosing the project. The rationale will help to inform you about the type of research you want to conduct and about the type and quality of data you are looking for. For example, if you want a small amount of not very sensitive data from a large group of people, you might consider a postal or email questionnaire. Alternatively, if you are looking to explore a person’s attitudes and feelings in relation to a sensitive topic then perhaps an in-depth interview is the most appropriate method to use. The rationale will also suggest something about your stance with regard to the topic you wish to research. However, when choosing a research project the most important consideration is whether the project will produce the findings you need to complete it in the time you have available. One approach is to consider only research questions that supplement existing research agendas. This means that you should consider looking at questions that have been well researched and investigated by other researchers. You may find an anomaly in the their findings, in which case the opportunity to make a new contribution to knowledge is still there, but there is the added advantage of having a large number of books and papers that you can refer to as support and guidance. Many first-time researchers are of the opinion that research projects should be objective, balanced and politically neutral. In other words, that research projects should be ‘value-free’, in that the researcher should not allow their own personal, political or moral beliefs to play a role in the processes of data collection or data analysis. The argument is usually based upon a belief that value-free research projects are more valid, more reliable and as such are of better quality.

Definitions Validity The concept of validity refers to the completeness of the research project. To what extent do the methods of data collection collect the data that are relevant to addressing the aims of the research project? Is the method of data collection really measuring what we want it to measure? Also to what extent are the findings a complete picture of the relevant issues that the research project is investigating? Can we trust our findings? It is important that the researcher considers potential threats to the validity of the research project, such as the bias of the researcher, and addresses these threats. Reliability If the methodological approach is clearly outlined by the researcher, so that the research design can be repeated or replicated, then we can claim that our methodology is reliable.

This book will provide you with a clear but critical outline of the most common methods of data collection and data analysis, including:

The rationale

s s s s s s s s

ACTIONRESEARCH CASESTUDYRESEARCH CRITICALINCIDENTRESEARCH QUANTITATIVERESEARCH QUALITATIVERESEARCH STANDPOINTRESEARCH EXPERIMENTALRESEARCH EVALUATIVERESEARCH

There is a methodological approach that is not objective, balanced, neutral or value free that is commonly known as ‘standpoint research’. In this approach the researcher takes up a point of view, which may be the point of view of a given group of people in the population such as women, ethnic minorities or children with disabilities. This form of research is not necessarily invalid or unreliable. What standpoint researchers do is collect data and present them in such a way that supports an argument that they want to advance. What their research contains is a perspective or point of view. A perspective is a framework of assumptions about the world and the data collected is selected in such a way as to add to the validity of the perspective itself. In a Marxian analysis, for example, you would expect the researcher to have an emphasis on collecting data about the impact of class in society. In contrast, in a feminist analysis you would expect the researcher to have an emphasis on collecting data about the impact of gender and patriarchy in society. It is not uncommon for a researcher to make a statement that explains their rationale to the reader, for example: 1. Anne Oakley (1981) in her study of women having their first babies, made her feminist stance very clear in her rationale: ‘I am a feminist, an academic sociologist, and a woman with children. I was not a feminist until I had children, and I became a sociologist as an escape from the problems of having children’ (Oakley 1981: 5). 2. Simone Fullagar (2002) also developed a personal approach to a research project on travel. Fullagar suggested that desire is a bodily experience and we are motivated by our emotions to fulfil our desires. She went on to argue that desire can unconsciously reconcile the experiences we have whilst travelling with our accepted cultural norms. She claims that most research in the area ignores this opinion and instead looks at the desire to travel either as an individual motivation or as a consumer motivation. ‘As part of this method I draw upon excerpts from my own travel diaries to examine how different trajectories of desire structure the movement of feminine subjectivity within phallocentric culture’ (Fullagar 2002: 57). ‘It is an analysis of the desires that moved me, as a feminine subject in the ambiguously gendered role of the white, middle class independent Australian traveller, to know the world in its difference’ (Fullagar 2002: 59).

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3. Dan Goodley (no date) presents a very clear rationale for his argument on disability and pedagogy (learning). His paper opens with the following comments: ‘disabled learners are excluded from the discourses of critical pedagogy . . . Instead their participation tends to be conceptualised in relation to “inclusive education”. . . . Schools adapt or resist legislative demands to include learners with impairments. . . . Disabled students remain marginalised through their construction as an othered group requiring empowerment’ (Goodley no date: 1). ‘This paper addresses the pressing need to support disabled people in the exercising and promotion of what might be termed socially just pedagogies’ (Goodley no date: 4). 4. Olivier (2006) in his research attempts to defend the activities of people involved in extreme sports from the range of criticisms they have faced: ‘“Extreme” activities are now popular weekend and vacation pursuits of “ordinary” people. . . . The underlying criticism of such participation is that, as the number of people participating in risky leisure increases, so do the number of serious injuries and deaths. Other criticisms include the costs to rescue teams, such as financial costs and personal injuries; and the negative emotional impact on significant others. This paper will attempt to defend participation in dangerous leisure pursuits, in so doing considering issues of duty, consequence, autonomy, and paternalism’ (Olivier 2006: 96).

Objectivity It is probably clear from the research cited above that much data collection is not simply a naïve search for the ‘truth’. This raises the important question of whether our research projects should be objective and value free or not. If our research is objective then we should be in a position to say that our findings have not been influenced by our own personal, political or moral beliefs and that another researcher investigating the same question, with the same group of respondents, using the same methods of data collection would have come to the same conclusions. In summary, our data collection and data analysis should be free from bias, and free from our personal, political and moral values.

Thinkpiece What is the truth? Michel Foucault wrote a number of interesting and demanding histories of madness, sexuality, punishment and the clinic. His argument is that as the

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modern world developed it was characterised by increasing levels of institutional and state control over our knowledge, to the degree that truth should be seen as something that is produced within an institutional context of domination. Foucault argues that the state generates epistemes (basically theories) that organise knowledge about the everyday activities of populations and this forms the basis of normality. Before you read on think about this deep philosophical question: what is the truth and how do you know when you have found it?

As we have already suggested above, social researchers are human and experience feelings that make it difficult to divorce themselves from the moral aspects of their research projects. Therefore we have to assume that complete objectivity will always be beyond our ability to achieve. In many respects it might be a more honest position to take up a distinct perspective, such as the Feminist stance adopted by Anne Oakley, so that the reader can take into account that the researcher has selected and analysed their data from a clear and explicit political perspective. Research that takes up a social or political perspective can still be reliable if the methodological approach is clearly outlined and the research design can be repeated or replicated. Such research projects may not be valid in the sense of giving a complete picture of the area under investigation but such projects can have a high degree of reliability. In contrast, some forms of research aim to have a very high degree of interaction with the respondents and attempt to understand some aspect of their lives by methods that involve skilled forms of interactions such as in-depth interviewing that take the form of conversations that use prompting, probing and supplementary questions that emerge from previous responses and/or observations. The aim is to produce high-quality data but from a small group of respondents. The findings from such research projects often generate a great deal of high-quality data that give a very valid or complete picture of what the respondents think and feel but the methods of data collection and data analysis rely upon personal skills of the researcher that are difficult to define, describe or repeat, making the research design difficult to duplicate or replicate by another researcher. Such research projects may be methodologically unreliable but very high in validity. If we assume that we choose our research questions on the basis of our personal beliefs or values – including such values as we find an area of investigation interesting or we like it, or because we are politically motivated to come to a given conclusion such as the feminist or Marxist – does this mean that all research is biased? One position suggested by Max Weber (1922) was that although we choose our research projects on the basis of our values, once chosen we should treat our research questions as existing but not valid. We should recognise that our values and beliefs play a significant role in the choice of topic to be investigated, but once chosen we should conduct our data collection and data analysis in a balanced, neutral and objective manner.

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Chapter 1 Getting started

Thinkpiece Before you read on you might want to consider the following question: is valuefree or objective research possible or desirable? Is it possible to investigate any of the research projects mentioned in this chapter in a value-free manner? If you did attempt to investigate an issue in a value-free manner are there any tests you could use to guarantee that you were not allowing an unconscious prejudice, point of view or perspective to influence your research?

Kum-Kum Bhavnani (1993) argues that feminist objectivity should be derived from ‘positioning’, and ‘partiality’ from ‘situated knowledge’, because most academic research marginalises women of colour. Many white researchers assume that racism is part of human nature and as such that racism is a normal aspect of everyday life. In contrast, Bhavnani’s research refuses to accept this point of view, on the grounds that such an assumption of biological inevitability helps to reproduce racial and social inequalities and provides a justification for racism. Such arguments challenge dominant notions of reality and truth by questioning the value-laden and politicised nature of the research process, including the categories we use to organise and analyse our data. For standpoint researchers, values and bias have a central place in the production of knowledge.

Thinkpiece Consider the following rationale from a paper by James Dingley and Marcello Mollica and answer the questions that follow giving reasons for your answer: ‘There appears to be a fundamental difference at the level of moral authority between hunger strikers and suicide bombers and ordinary soldiers that belies terrorist claims to be regarded as ordinary soldiers fighting a war like any other soldier’ (Dingley and Mollica 2007: 460). Questions 1. In your own words, what do you think is the meaning of this sentence? 2. Would you find it possible to research the motivation of hunger strikers or suicide bombers in a value-free manner?

Action research ‘Action research’ and a related approach known as ‘practitioner research’ are approaches to research that draw upon action and reflection from the practitioner’s perspective. The action approach is most fully developed within the field of Education Studies,

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but there is no reason why you as a researcher should not use this form of research in your own area of work or expertise. All practitioners know a great deal about their area or work, so for example, teachers ‘know about’ a great many things: textbooks; specifications; examinations; individual learners; teaching methodology; working with colleagues etc. Teachers have knowledge of everyday action and as such they can be reflective practitioners. What are the kinds of work-related and other professional issues you find yourself reflecting upon? Such forms of reflection are often much more than simply ‘thinking about’. Reflection can be rigorously conceptualised and used as research principles that are in tune with the practitioner’s conception of reality. In which case we can say that such knowing in action can become reflection in action. This is a rather long-winded way of saying that it is possible to have a form of research that is participant-driven and reflective. In the field of Educational Studies such research is often collaborative in nature. Several like-minded researchers come together to conduct a research project; the aim of this form of research is to change the way people work, in other words to bring about an improvement in practice. Kurt Lewin pioneered this approach in the 1940s, in a nutshell arguing that all practitioners should develop a research consciousness. His approach contained the following stages: individual idea; fact finding; action plan; implementation; monitoring; revision; amended plan; and so on. In terms of educational action research, practitioners need to reflect directly on their own teaching situation and experience. Such research begins and builds on teacher knowledge and it has a clear focus on classroom issues. Action research builds on the normal process of evaluation, bridging the gap between the practitioner and the researcher. Such research can sharpen the practitioner’s critical awareness.

A literature review Once you have the idea for a research project it is important that you conduct a full review of the existing research in the area. This is commonly referred to as a literature review. In Chapter 3 we will look in detail at how to conduct an effective literature review. This part of the research process is important for a number of reasons: s s s s

)TCANHELPYOUDECIDEIFTHECURRENTRESEARCHISNOTADEQUATE )TCANSHOWHOWEXISTINGRESEARCHSUPPORTSYOURRESEARCHQUESTION )TCANHELPYOUIDENTIFYCONmICTINGORAMBIGUOUSRESEARCHlNDINGS !NDMOSTIMPORTANTLY AS(ELEN'UNTER POINTSOUT ALTHOUGHTHELITERATURE review ‘cannot promise genius, it should at least forestall stupidity’ (Gunter 2005: 166). ‘A literature review is a systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and interpreting the existing body of work produced by researchers’ (Fink 1998: 37).

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Identifying variables and indicators In many research projects you are expected to identify the relationship between two variables. In the following box two variables are identified: work and stress. Both work and stress are very broad terms and if we wish to measure the impact of work on stress levels we need to identify something that is clearly and directly related to work and something that is clearly and directly related to stress. In addition, the thing that we choose must be related only to work-related activities and needs to be easily identified and in a form that can be measured. Similarly, the thing we choose in relation to stress must only be related to stress and also has to be identified and be in a form that can be measured. Variables and indicators Variables are concepts or ideas that our research projects investigate and indicators are tangible things that can be used to measure the impact of a variable. A variable is best understood as your ‘unit of analysis’: it is the ‘thing’ that you wish to measure in your research project. A dependent variable is one that is influenced by changes in the independent variable. A hypothesis is a proposition that is presented in a testable form. Usually the hypothesis statement predicts the relationship between two or more variables. If we hypothesised that there is an association between gender and the level of customer satisfaction then satisfaction would be the dependent variable because satisfaction cannot affect gender (the independent variable). We could for example attempt to test the following hypothesis: the greater the workload the higher the level of stress. This hypothesis is linking two concepts: ‘the quantity of work’ and ‘the level of stress’. Each concept has to be ‘operationalised’. This means that we have to find some concrete, tangible thing that is clearly related to our key concepts and is in a form that can be measured: this is called the indicator. In the work and stress research project we need to identify an indicator for ‘the quantity of work’ and a separate indicator for ‘the level of stress’. Always keep in mind that an indicator is something that can be easily observed, measured and represents the variables we are interested in. We could use the number of work-related tasks completed in one day as our indicator to measure the ‘quantity of work’. In a similar fashion, we could use the number of days absent from work due to stress-related illness as our indicator of levels of stress. In this case, ‘the number of work-related tasks completed in one day’ would be the independent variable and the ‘number of days absent from work due to stress-related illness’ would be the dependent variable. So: s 4HEINDEPENDENTVARIABLEISHYPOTHESISEDTOAFFECTTHEOUTCOME s 4HE DEPENDENT VARIABLE IS PRESUMED TO BE THE EFFECT OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

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Thinkpiece Using the information from the box on page 12 answer the following questions. Questions 1. Could such a hypothesis allow us as researchers to identify a causal relationship between the two variables? 2. Can you think of any other indicators that we could have used as our indicator for ‘the quantity of work’ and our indicator for ‘the level of stress’?

So I don’t have to do a questionnaire then? Unless you are a student who is asked to conduct a research project using a specific method of data collection as part of an assessment, you have a completely free choice as to how you wish to collect your data and make sense of it. Before you make your choice of data collection method you might find it useful to ask yourself the following question and answer it honestly: what are your skills as a researcher? At this stage you may not know what research skills you have. You may not be in a position to answer a question such as: what methods of data collection and data analysis do you prefer to use? However as you read through each chapter you will develop a much clearer idea of your skills, abilities and preferences as a researcher and thereby gain an idea of the research projects that you wish to conduct. Some types of research question lend themselves to specific forms of data collection and data analysis. However, if you are a person who enjoys looking for and attempting to identify patterns within numbers, then methods of data collection that generate numerical data are for you. In contrast, if you are interested in trying to understand the motives, intentions, meanings and feelings of people then this suggests that you prefer more interpretative or ethnographic methods of data collection and data analysis. This is not to suggest that institutional constraints do not exist over the choice of method. It is important before beginning the process of data collection to find out what policies and protocols the institution in which you study or work has in place for data collection. You may have skills and abilities that allow you to collect data in a covert manner, without the knowledge and consent of the people you are investigating. However, morally you may feel that this is an inappropriate approach. Alternatively, you may have no moral concerns over investigating your topic covertly but you may need to get your project approved by a university ethics committee who may not allow covert research to be conducted by staff or students. Chapter 2 investigates the issues of ethics in the research process. Many students who are faced with having to do a research project for the first time automatically assume that the questionnaire is the only method available to them. This is not the case. In addition, when students find out that interpretative or ethnographic

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methods are also available for use, those people who did not like doing maths at school will always reject methods to generate numerical data. This book will allow you to identify the appropriate methods of data collection and data analysis for the questions that you wish to explore.

The ‘conventional’ stages in the design and execution of a research project There are several important stages in the planning and execution of any research project including: 1. Defining the problem you want to investigate. 2. Searching the literature in the area you have chosen to investigate. This will help you to refine your research question, identify how experienced researchers have approached the question and help you to define your objectives (what you want to achieve) for the research project. 3. Identify the research design: do you want to conduct a quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods project? You will need to write a justification for your choice of data collection method(s) so you need to think seriously about what method(s) are the most appropriate and why. As a researcher you should also be able to write a justification for each question asked in a questionnaire or interview and be in a position to explain how each question is related to both your research question and the literature in the area. This will help you eliminate irrelevant questions. Do not automatically, for example, have a question about gender or age unless gender or age are considered as important variables that you want to explore. 4. Identify the population you want to investigate and select the sample of respondents or participants. When thinking about respondents steer clear of stereotypical labels or perceptions and keep in mind that a population is a rich variety of individuals with often very different opinions and ideas from each other: they are not just a batch of people. Think about sampling strategies that can potentially include all individuals from the population you are interested in. 5. Take care that your research design demonstrates consideration for the ethical considerations of the respondents or participants in your sample. In particular, make sure that you have the informed consent of the respondents, and that they know what they are agreeing to when they say ‘yes’ to your request to participate in the research project. 6. Choose your methods of data analysis: how are you going to make sense of the data you collect? Data analysis can take a number of forms: looking for themes or patterns with the transcript from an interview; numerical summaries from a simple content analysis; and numerical summaries of measured indicators of our variables by inferential statistics.

Conclusion

7. Draw an appropriate inference. Inference is the process of arriving at a conclusion: it is the stage between the collection of data and presenting an explanation of the meaning of the results or findings of your research project. Inference is the process the researcher has to go through in an effort to produce a justification or a defensible conclusion to the question they are investigating. It takes place when the researcher makes a judgement based upon the evidence they have collected. At this stage researchers need to give the reasons why the conclusions they suggest are better than the alternative conclusions found in the literature. 8. Finally, write-up and report the study. Over the following chapters each of these stages will be explored. Examples drawn from the literature will provide you with instances or models of good practice that you can draw upon when conducting your own research projects.

Thinkpiece Human beings are really interesting. Even the most mundane of their actions can be fascinating. Imagine for one moment that you are walking along a busy city street one afternoon; there are many hundreds of people also walking along the same street in different directions. Walkers almost always avoid communicating with each other and touching each other, they also avoid eye contact. Yet they tend not to bump into each other. The vast majority of people walking along city streets have never met each other, yet they appear to have a common set of rules that they follow for walking in busy streets. How did people acquire this set of walking skills? If there are a set of rules, why do people follow them and what sanctions might be imposed on a person who chose to break the rules? Think for a moment about how you would conduct a piece of research that was attempting to answer these questions. How would you collect the data? What method of data collection do you feel is the most appropriate and why?

Conclusion This chapter first considered the question: what is research? It then went on to discuss where ideas for research projects come from and gave some advice on how to think about potential research projects. Critical reading, personal events or observation that make you want to reflect upon their meaning can all be used as the starting point for a research project. There is a rich variety of methods of data collection and data analysis that we can draw upon to make the short intellectual journey from ‘I know’ to ‘it is known’. A good starting point for any research project is for the researcher to write a rationale. The rationale will inform you about the type of research you want to conduct.

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Many first-time researchers are of the opinion that research projects should be objective, balanced and politically neutral; and that research projects should be ‘value-free’, in that the researcher should not allow their own personal, political or moral beliefs to play a role in the processes of data collection or data analysis. Standpoint research also has a degree of validity and reliability. For example, in a Marxian analysis, the researcher will have an emphasis on collecting data about the impact of class in society and the aim of the research is to collect data in support of a given point of view. In the last analysis, all approaches to data collection and data analysis involve knowing in advance the answers to some simple questions: s 7HATDATADOYOUWANT s (OWAREYOUGOINGTOCOLLECTIT s (OWAREYOUGOINGTOANALYSEIT

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Getting started Erica has been given the task of completing a research project in which she has to investigate the extent zoos fulfil their legal obligations to provide visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability. Her research question is: To what extent do zoos fulfil their legal obligations to provide visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability? She starts the research project by doing a literature review. She discovers that zoos have a long history. People have been visiting collections of interesting and exotic live animals for entertainment purposes since the early years of the eighteenth century. Moreover, from the nineteenth century many scientific societies also took an interest in these collections for academic reasons. Erica found out that over the course of the twentieth century zoos became more concerned with explaining to visitors how human action can threaten biodiversity. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2004) zoos have a moral as well as a legal obligation to provide visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability. Zoos are expected to operate as scientific institutions that help visitors develop an understanding of how their lives can impact on the environment and consequently on the habitat of wild animals. However, one of the issues that Erica will face in this research project is that zoo visitors come from a diverse range of social and economic backgrounds and have a variety of reasons for visiting the zoo. Many school children visit zoos on organised school trips that may involve the zoo’s education officer giving a presentation and providing learning materials for teachers and pupils to work on after the visit. On the other hand, the majority of visitors view

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a trip to the zoo as a leisure experience and what they expect from the zoo is a fun day out. Therefore zoos have to be able to identify informal opportunities for learning to take place and be effective at drawing upon interactive technology to inform visitors in the most entertaining way possible. Erica is concerned that many zoo visitors have only a limited understanding of animal biology. A number of researchers have found that only creatures with hair are considered ‘animals’, humans, birds and invertebrates are often not considered animals. In addition the habitat and the home of an animal are often confused. Such misconceptions can hamper a zoo’s ability to inform people about biodiversity. Technical language in relation to biodiversity and sustainability is often difficult to understand. How should Erica approach this research project? What method or methods of data collection should she use? What method of data analysis should she adopt? At the end of each chapter we will look at a possible methodological approach that Erica could have adopted to complete her research project successfully.

Bibliography Best, S. (2007) ‘The social construction of pain: an evaluation’, Disability & Society, 22(2): 161–71. Bhavnani, K.K. (1993) Shifting Passions, Changing Genres, London: Sage. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2004) The Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice, London: DEFRA. www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/ zoos/standards-zoo-practice/ Dingley, J. and Mollica, M. (2007) ‘The Human Body as a Terrorist Weapon: Hunger Strikes and Suicide Bombers’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 30(6): 459–92. Fink, A. (1998) Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Paper to the Internet, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Fullagar, S. (2002) ‘Narratives of travel: desire and the movement of feminine subjectivity’, Leisure Studies, 21(1): 57–74. Goodley, D. (n.d.) ‘Towards socially just pedagogies: Deleuzoguattarian critical disability studies’, www.shef.ac.uk/applieddisabilitystudies/ Graydon, C. (2006) ‘Can consent be uninformed? Suggested reform of sexual offences against persons with intellectual disability’, paper presented to the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference Centre for Social Change Research, Queensland University of Technology, 27 October 2006, pp. 1–10. Gunter, H. (2005) ‘Conceptualizing Research in Educational Leadership’, Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 33(2): 165–80. Lewin, K. (1946) ‘Action research and minority problems’, Journal of Social Issues, 2(4): 34–46.

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Oakley, A. (1981) From Here to Maternity, London: Penguin. Olivier, S. (2006) ‘Moral Dilemmas of Participation in Dangerous Leisure Activities’, Leisure Studies, 25(1): 95–109. Reichenbach, H. (1938) Experience and prediction; an analysis of the foundations and the structure of knowledge, Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago Press. Weber, M. (1922) Economy and Society, G. Roth and C. Wittich (eds), New York: Bedminster Press, 1968.

2 The ethics of social research By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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Introduction Good research is valid, reliable and gives the reader an honest account of events or issues under investigation. A code of ‘ethics’ is a set of moral principles about how people should conduct themselves and gives clear guidance on the appropriate way that people should act or behave. All research practice requires an awareness of ethical issues. One could argue that if our research is valid and reliable then it is ethical irrespective of the consequences for the respondents. Some researchers such as Lynoe et al. (1999) take the view that a badly designed research project is by definition unethical. You might want to reflect on this comment after reading the chapter. In ethnographic and other forms of qualitative research ethical issues often emerge during the data collection phase and ethnographers regularly struggle to meet the ethical requirements that professional bodies – such as the British Educational Research Association (BERA), the British Sociological Association (BSA), the Social Research Association (SRA), the Department of Health and in the USA the Code of Federal Regulations – have developed for good research practice. As Wiles et al. (2003) suggest many researchers habitually view the process of ethical approval more as a bureaucratic hurdle to be overcome, rather than as a positive or helpful part of the research process.

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In social research there will always be disagreements about whether an issue is morally relevant and it for this reason that ethical codes of practice have developed to guide researchers on the correct and appropriate stance to take. As a social researcher you need to include an ethical statement in your research report. In this statement you need to explain if you have attempted to gain the informed consent of the respondents and what steps you have taken to achieve this. Lindsay (2000) argues that codes of research ethics place a much greater emphasis on some features of the research process than others. The emphasis tends to be in relation to access to the respondents, selection of the respondents, their consent, anonymity and confidentiality. Other key concepts in the field of research ethics also include: s Veracity – as researchers we should be moral exemplars who strive to be honest and truthful. As researchers we should not deceive respondents about our research. In addition we should handle the information we are given from respondents in the research process sensitively. s Non-malfeasance – in other words, to do no harm, to be fair and to have the welfare of the respondent in mind at all times (beneficence). In summary, all research practice requires an awareness of ethical issues. In ethnographic and other forms of qualitative research ethical issues often emerge during the data collection phase and ethnographers often struggle to meet the ethical requirements that professional bodies have developed for good research practice. As researchers we should not tell lies about the research and we should handle the information we are given from respondents in the research process sensitively.

Why research ethics are important to you Before we move on it is important to list briefly why research ethics are important to you as a researcher and why it is important to act ethically. You have a professional responsibility to avoid the exploitation of research participants. You must always keep in mind that the research process can be harmful to participants; to you personally as a researcher; to the university; and to other researchers in the field. In addition, as Wiles et al. point out: ‘it is clear that the principle of informed consent also operates within a legal framework which safeguards research organisations if adverse events occur within research. In this respect, informed consent becomes aligned with processes of indemnity and thus operationalised within a legal framework’ (Wiles et al. 2003: 8). In other words, if a person feels that they have been deceived, harmed or that their privacy has been infringed as a direct consequence of your research you may find that legal proceedings will be started against you.

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In this chapter we will look at: s WHATRESEARCHERSUNDERSTANDBYINFORMEDCONSENTANDWHYGETTINGINFORMEDCONsent from participants in a research project is a common requirement; s WHYETHICALAPPROVALHASBECOMEANIMPORTANTSTAGEWITHINTHERESEARCHPROCESS s WHYITISIMPORTANTTOCONSIDERISSUESOFCONlDENTIALITYINTHERESEARCHPROCESS The chapter will also consider the difference between teleological, deontological and situational theories of ethics.

Informed consent Getting informed consent from participants in a research project is a common requirement found in all ethical codes of research conduct. In the UK the issue of informed consent became a major political issue following an inquiry into research practices at Alder Hey Hospital and Liverpool University, where organs from dead children were harvested for research purposes without the parents fully being informed as to what they were consenting too. In the USA obtaining the informed consent from respondents is a legal requirement for all social research conducted at institutions receiving federal funding. Brody et al. (1997) give some disturbing examples of research projects that have ignored the informed consent of their participants and as a consequence caused them harm: ‘Prominent examples include the Public Health Services’ Tuskegee syphilis study initiated in the 1930s, in which lifesaving medical treatment was systematically withheld from 400 poor Black male participants; The Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital study, in which patients were unknowingly injected with live cancer cells; and the Willowbrook hepatitis study, in which hepatitis virus was injected into mentally retarded children while their parents were falsely led to believe the children were being vaccinated against the disease. Most recently, an advisory committee appointed by President Bill Clinton to study the human radiation experiments conducted from 1944 to 1974 determined that informed consent procedures were frequently violated’ (Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, 1996) (Brody et al. 1997: 286). The Tuskegee experiments were very well designed with a clear hypothesis that attempted to test if syphilis developed differently in people of different races. The research design involved public health employees persuading African American men with syphilis not to take penicillin even though it was recognised as the standard treatment for the condition. Similarly the Willowbrook hepatitis study was also well designed. The purpose of this study was to see how quickly hepatitis spread through the body and to test the

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effectiveness of a new medication for the condition. The data for the Willowbrook study was collected from children with a range of mental and physical impairments. Brody et al. (1997) also comment on a series of experiments conducted by Berkun et al. (1962) who were interested in understanding people’s reactions to highly stressful situations. Military recruits were told that their lives were in danger from a plane crash, exposure to radiation, a forest fire and missiles. The researchers successfully convinced the respondents that their lives were in danger, when they were not. Aronson et al. (2007) state that deception in research practice is the ‘procedure whereby participants are misled about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire’ (p. 54). Famous psychological experiments conducted by Milgram (in 1964), Ash (in 1951) and Zimbardo (in 1981) used deception to convince respondents that they were in situations that in reality they were not in. Milgram managed to convince a group of volunteers to give what they thought was a lethal dose of electricity to a stranger. Ash (1951) managed to convince a group of volunteers that they could not trust their own perception; whilst Zimbardo used hypnotic suggestion to gradually and unknowingly (from the volunteers’ perspective) take away the hearing of a group of volunteers to see if it caused paranoia. All these forms of deception could potentially have caused harmful side-effects to the participants. For Brody et al. (1997) informed consent is based upon the moral principle of personal autonomy, by which they mean: ‘respect for the integrity of the individual’ including their ‘right of self-determination’ and ‘right of privacy’. In a research context, the individual respondent should not only give their consent to be investigated but also must understand what it is that they are consenting to. All potential participants should have the right to refuse their participation and as researchers we should respect that decision.

Thinkpiece You might at this stage want to reflect on the reasons why some people might not want to participate in a research project.

Faden and Beauchamp (1986) argue that informed consent is only valid when four conditions are fulfilled: 1. that as researchers we must fully make known any information that could influence a respondent’s decision to participate in the research project; 2. that the respondents fully understand the information we give them about the research project; 3. that the decision to participate is voluntary; 4. that respondents are capable of understanding the consequences of their actions. In most research projects it is assumed that if a respondent has signed a consent form, then they have given their informed consent. However, Gtunder (1978) suggests that in

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many cases, consent forms are written in a language that is too difficult for the intended participants to understand fully.

Managing informed consent Research methods textbooks tend to focus on the abstract principles of informed consent. Such principles are found in guidelines produced by organisations such as BERA, the Social Research Association and the British Sociological Association, discussed later in the chapter. The understanding of when informed consent is achieved differs broadly. For some researchers informed consent is achieved when a consent form is completed. For others ‘proper’ informed consent is a more prolonged process that is only provided by the respondent when researchers can guarantee or ensure the research process, including how the findings are used by others, does not exploit respondents. Questions you might want to consider are: should respondents have the opportunity to review their transcripts? Should respondents have the ‘right’ to amend or even veto some or all of a transcript? It is regarded as good ethical practice for researchers to offer the respondents confidentiality by concealing their identity, changing their names, location, biographical details etc. However, is it ethical to amend data in an effort to give greater anonymity? This boils down to a researcher essentially producing a fabricated account of events observed in an effort to be ethical in terms of research practice. On the one hand, we want our respondents to have their identity kept anonymous. On the other hand, if we have to change so many biographical details that the reader cannot fully understand the circumstances that the respondent is in this can damage the validity of the research findings. As a researcher it is important to strike a balance and negotiate with the respondent over how much personal information they are willing for you to include in your research report.

Thinkpiece Who has ownership over a transcript, for example a verbatim account of responses to a set of interview questions produced in a research project? Do these findings belong to the researcher? As researchers can we edit transcripts however we choose?

Committees and guidelines During the past 10 years the ethical review of research has become institutionalised within UK and North American universities. Gaining approval from an ethics committee has become an important stage within the research process. The purpose of

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ethics committees is to prevent misconduct in the research process. All universities have a procedure for ethical approval for staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students. Details of the procedure for ethical approval will be made available to you and as ever, with any research project, if you are unsure of the details ask your tutor. The central purpose of ethical approval for a research project is to help the researcher avoid the issue of research misconduct. Below is a definition of research misconduct followed by an example of research practice from Clarke (1996). Read the two papagraphs and answer the question that follows.

Thinkpiece Research misconduct According to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the USA: ‘Research misconduct is defined as fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. Fabrication is making up results and recording or reporting them. Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record. Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of other investigators’ research proposals and manuscripts. Research misconduct does not include honest error or honest differences of opinion’ (‘Research Misconduct – A New Definition and New Procedures for Federal Research Agencies’ (14 October 1999) http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/html/9910 20.html). Clarke (1996) used deception in a forensic unit, claiming that this approach was necessary to obtain ‘uncontaminated’ data. She used participant observation over a period of six weeks while working as a nursing auxiliary. Clarke did not disclose her role as researcher. She retreated to the restroom to take notes or to speak into a small dictaphone. Clarke justified this method stating that some degree of deception is permissible when ‘dealing with sensitive aspects of subjects’ behaviour’ (Clarke 1996: 38). Question Is the deception of respondents ever justified in the research process?

In 2004 the British Educational Research Association (BERA) revised their Ethical Guidelines for Research. The BERA Code clearly states that researchers should avoid the fabrication of data; respondents must give their informed consent and researchers should make their findings available to respondents; report findings should be accurate and honest; and respondents have a right to remain anonymous. The Code also states:

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‘The Association considers that all educational research should be conducted within an ethic of respect for: The Person Knowledge Democratic Values The Quality of Educational Research Academic Freedom’ (BERA 2004: 5). In addition: ‘The underpinning aim of the guidelines is to enable educational researchers to weigh up all aspects of the process of conducting educational research within any given context (from student research projects to large-scale funded projects) and to reach an ethically acceptable position in which their actions are considered justifiable and sound’ (BERA 2004: 4). When the guidelines say that researchers must have respect for the person this means that researchers must comply with the data protection legislation, the respondents need to know who will have access to the data, how and why the data they give to the research project are going to be stored. Also when the guidelines state that as researchers we should have respect for ‘knowledge’ BERA means that: ‘Researchers must accord due respect to all methodologies and related methods. They must contribute to the community spirit of critical analysis and constructive criticism that generates improvement in practice and enhancement of knowledge’ (BERA 2004: 13).

Activity Look up the BERA guidelines on the internet and write a short account of what BERA understand by respect for: Democratic Values; The Quality of Educational Research; and Academic Freedom. You can find the BERA guidelines for research ethics at http://www.bera.ac.uk/search/node/research%20ethics.

The BERA guidelines for ethical research are seen by many researchers as a benchmark for ethical research practice and they are representative of codes of ethics for researchers across the social sciences. There are concerns about the level of bureaucratic supervision that research ethics guidelines impose on researchers. We can still recognise that social science research has responsibilities in relation to potential harm, consent and anonymity etc. However, a number of critics have suggested that all social science research is now subjected to

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a very high level of ethical guidance and supervision because of a small number of well-publicised cases in science, technology and medicine, especially in relation to medicine, that have caused harm to people. Although Haggerty (2004), for example, accepts that all research requires an awareness of ethical issues, he develops the argument that: ‘As a regulatory system, however, the research ethics process now poses dangers to the ability to conduct university based research’ (Haggerty 2004: 392).

Ethics ‘creep’ For Haggerty (2004), in the past the ethics of research were based upon the professional competence and responsibility of the researcher and the code of conduct of their discipline. Professional competence and responsibility have been replaced by a system of bureaucratic supervision or oversight. Haggerty (2004) suggests that journalists have much greater freedom to explore social and political issues in a much more critical fashion than social scientists. He develops the concept of ‘creep’ to describe the ways in which the unintended transformation and expansion of systems, bureaucratic supervision or oversight of the research process is damaging research practice. Informed consent provisions have also made it increasingly difficult to conduct research that makes use of deception even when no harm occurs from the researcher not giving a full account of the research to the respondent. For Haggerty (2004) the coercive and conformist rule-following that ethics committees require from researchers can prevent researchers from conducting critical research that takes risks: ‘The fetishization of rules can reduce ethical systems to a form of conformist rulefollowing. Researchers risk being seen as acting unethically when they fail to submit an application to the REB [research ethics board] or obtain a signed consent form, whether or not there was ever the slightest prospect of anyone being harmed by virtue of such research. When following the rules hampers research but seems disconnected from any prospect of producing harm, researchers conform not because they accept the moral authority and ethical insights of the REB structure, but because their reputations and careers can be damaged should they fail to do so. The authority of the ethics structure risks becoming more coercive than moral’ (Haggerty 2004: 411). In other words, for Haggerty (2004) institutions have developed a coercive and unhealthy obsession with conformist rule-following in relation to the ethical nature of conducting research. Institutions have put a great deal of emphasis on bureaucratic procedures such as making sure that people sign relevant consent forms, even when there is no real chance of a respondent being harmed by research. Failure to do so can damage a person’s reputation and career prospects.

Confidentiality

Thinkpiece Children as respondents The BERA guidelines for research make it problematical for an educational researcher to include children as respondents in a research project. Legally a child is any person under the age of 18 years. The traditional approach to the study of children in social research is paternalistic. Children are assumed to be vulnerable, unable to protect their own interests and dependent upon adults. Children are assumed to be acted upon by others, rather than being social actors or persons in their own right. A child’s welfare is dependent upon the adults in their lives, notably parents and teachers who are legally responsible for the care of the child. As such, children lack the ability to give consent to participate in a research project. If we want to study children we need to get the consent of parents who do not have a duty to consult their children. An alternative view has been developed by Alderson (1995, 2000) and Thomas and O’Kane (1998), who draw upon the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that specifically explains that all children have participation rights: the right to be informed on all issues and to have a voice, including the right to participate in social research. In the UK, children are protected by the Children Act (1989). In addition, under the Child Protection Act (1999), a researcher cannot promise to maintain the confidentiality or anonymity of a child. Questions 1. Write a summary of the main points from the two paragraphs above. 2. Should a social researcher use the same ethical standards whether they are researching adults or children?

Confidentiality Should every respondent be offered confidentiality? Is it ever appropriate to breach confidentiality? These are the questions that we should consider when we discuss the issue of confidentiality. Firstly as researchers we have to conform to relevant data protection laws. If we make an offer of confidentiality and later break it respondents would be able to take legal action against us. However, in many cases it is in the public interest to disclose our research findings to the authorities, say to protect a child or others in the community from harm. In addition, if our research findings contain evidence of illegal activity then the police or the courts may require information to be disclosed. The researcher would

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be in contempt of court if they refuse to give the court such information. Although these are legal rather than ethical obligations placed on us as researchers, it is better if you do not give respondents a guarantee of confidentiality but simply to state that you will make every effort to maintain confidentiality. Also it is important to note that some respondents do not want their identity concealed. It is not uncommon for researchers to protect the confidentiality of respondents and their activities by not recording names and other identifying details from confidential data. For example, the name of the town or city where the research took place can be disguised. However, as researchers it is not our decision alone to decide what information is sensitive or damaging for the respondent. Tolich (2004) has suggested that researchers find out from respondents what information they might consider to be damaging. Forms of data alteration, such as only presenting aggregate data, can be very effective at maintaining the confidentiality of the data by hiding the identity of the individual respondents. However, ethnographic data from case studies, life histories or in-depth interviews are not so easy to disguise, separate or aggregate than are data from questionnaires. Researchers have identified a number of justifications for confidentiality. Many respondents are reluctant to reveal details about themselves if they think the information could be freely disseminated to third parties, particularly if the research topic is sensitive and the dissemination of the information could have adverse consequences for the respondent. Every individual has a right to limit access to his or her person; this is our right to privacy and it is based on the principle of respect for autonomy. In other words, people should have the right to maintain secrets about themselves and be in a position to decide who knows what about them (Allen 1997; Beauchamp and Childress 2001). However, a number of codes of research ethics such as that of the British Sociological Association and the United States Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46.101, 3[iii]) suggest that we need not offer confidentiality to people who hold public office such as MPs or civil servants who are giving us information about their public work.

What makes an ethical researcher? There are a number of distinct ethical stances that researchers can take regarding the processes of data collection and data analysis. On the one hand, there are teleological theories of ethics, which suggest that if the outcome of the research process is ethical then the research is ethical, irrespective of how we choose to behave during the course of the data collection process. As researchers we need to define a proper end or telos for our research. During the course of the data collection we may deceive the respondents, not give them a full account of the aims of our research or the argument we hope to explore but if at the end of the research process we produce a report that contains data that can benefit large numbers of people then the end justifies the means. Alternatively, deontological theories of ethics place the emphasis on the behaviour of the researcher in the field. These deontological

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approaches suggest that the manner in which researchers behave and the decisions they make in the research process should be ethical, not simply the outcome.

Definitions s Teleology – the doctrine of final causes, takes the view that the end justifies the means. s Deontology – the science of duty, puts emphasis on the manner by which results are achieved.

Being ethical is not simply about paying lip-service to a code of research practice, it is about honesty and explicitly understanding our own values and motivation as researchers. Hursthouse (1991) argues that it is possible to identify an objective basis for what she refers to as ‘a single set of human virtues’. In a research context, virtue ethics is based upon the assumption that as researchers we should act as a fully virtuous human being. Virtue ethics involves the researcher behaving as a good person, rather than following a set of rules about how to behave: we should tell the truth, we should keep our promises, we should be kind to respondents, not act meanly towards them, not lie to them, or break promises we make to them. Hursthouse’s ‘virtue ethics’ is based upon the assumption that the moral values of any action are derived from a person’s character. Actions are ethical if in a given set of circumstances we behave in the same way as a fully informed and virtuous person would behave in the same set of circumstances. People who support deontological approaches would maintain that this idea rests on a misguided assumption that it is possible to be a moral person without a set of rules to guide your behaviour and stress the need for rules in the justification of moral judgements in the research process. However, there is also the problem of rule-following. It can be morally questionable to follow rules without question. The individuals who were involved in the Tuskegee experiments, the Willowbrook hepatitis study and the organ harvest research at Alder Hey Hospital should not be able to claim that their actions were ethical because they were following rules. According to Cullity: ‘There must, therefore, be some concepts for which there are no independently articulable rules; and if so, we have been given no argument for thinking that moral concepts must be governed by such rules. . . . What I need instead, according to this line of argument, is moral sensitivity, good moral judgement: an appreciation of the true moral value of things’ (1999: 282).

Thinkpiece Before you read on, what do you think Cullity means by this?

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Right action All ethical codes begin with a simple premise that right action is ethical and as such,any action is right if it is in accordance with a moral rule or ethical principle. This assumption defines a relationship between right action and moral rule, but it does not provide a researcher with guidance about how to recognise a moral dilemma that a rule is meant to cover. However, if we behave in a way that would be greeted by universal rational acceptance or we can assume that our choice would be the choice made by all other rational beings than this is the best we can hope for from a moral code. Codes of research ethics have a tendency to create a conceptual link between the rule, right action and rationality. In the case of Alder Hey Hospital and Liverpool University, we could argue that when a child dies this is a very distressing and emotionally charged experience for parents. Medical science needs to conduct research on the organs of children who die in order to provide better medical knowledge to prevent other children dying of the same medical conditions in the future. It is therefore rational to harvest organs from dead children without the full informed consent of the parents because the refusal to grant consent to harvest organs is not rational and could be viewed as callous because such actions are putting other children at risk in the future. Thinkpiece Consider this question: is the action right because it promotes the best consequences? To act in a morally correct manner will involve ethical interpretation. You may not accept the logic of this argument, but what is important to recognise is that within any set of ethical guidelines there will be ample opportunity for a researcher to behave in an amoral or even immoral fashion. Ethical rules can also conflict. For example, as a social researcher I should get the informed consent of the people I wish to investigate but if the respondents are not in a position to give their informed consent should I phrase the aims of the research in a form of words that is not a complete description of the project, but which they are more likely to understand? In the next section we look in detail at a very influential research project that raised a number of important ethical concerns. It shows a research project in which the author did not attempt to get the consent of the people he investigated; he observed people without their knowledge and conducted interviews in disguise, claiming to be from a social health survey.

Tearoom Trade In 1970 Laud Humphreys published his book Tearoom Trade. A study of homosexual encounters in public places, this book caused arguments about the ethics of social research and it is worth looking at Humphreys’ methodology in some detail. Humphreys

Tearoom Trade

informs his reader that his interest in ‘the homosexual world’ emerged from his understanding of psychoanalytic theory in relation to homosexuality that he developed whilst doing clinical training in a psychiatric hospital and from his conversations with gay men whilst working as a chaplain for 10 years. The initial phase of the study was gaining access to the gay community by developing a relationship of trust. Humphreys describes how he did this: ‘I had to enter the subculture as would any newcomer and make contact with respondents under the guise of being another gay guy’ (1970: 24). His purpose at this point in the research project was ‘simply to get a feel of the deviant community’ (1970: 25). He regularly visited gay bars, parties, bathhouses, and ‘private gatherings’ and had ‘dozens of informal interviews with participants in the gay society’ (1970: 25). Keeping his identity as a researcher hidden from the respondents was a central element of the research design and he gives his reasons for this in a footnote: ‘My reticence at admitting I was a sociologist resulted, in part, from the cautioning of a gay friend who warned me that homosexuals in the community are particularly wary of sociologists. This is supposedly the result of the failure of a graduate student at another university to disguise the names of bars and respondents in a master’s thesis on the subject’ (Humphreys 1970: 24). Humphreys adopted the role of the watchqueen to observe the structured interactions of same-sex sexual encounters between strangers meeting in public toilets in parks, including the rules that were followed to initiate homosexual encounters safely. The watchqueen stood in and around the public toilets observing and informing the participants if the police were near. Given that there was very little talking that took place during these encounters, the study drew upon concepts from Goffman’s symbolic interactionism* to describe the ‘deviant’ acts that were committed and to give some insight into how and why people engage in the activities. Humphreys describes this interaction in terms of gestures such as: positioning, signalling, contracting, foreplay, and payoff. Humphreys collected 134 licence numbers of men involved in homosexual encounters. In addition, he kept systematic records of his observations on a ‘systematic observation sheet’ and used a concealed tape recorder to assist in the data collection. He explains how he managed to find the names and addresses of the men he observed: ‘Fortunately, a friendly policeman gave me access to the licence registers, without asking to see the numbers or becoming too inquisitive about the type of “market research” in which I was engaged’ (Humphreys 1970: 38). * A perspective in the social sciences that is concerned with understanding how sustained social interaction is possible by using methodological approaches that are sympathetic and sensitive to the respondent’s view of the world.

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Humphreys initially used this information to visit the homes of the men to make an assessment of factors such as their social class position, which could be judged from the type of house they lived in and the area of the city in which it was situated; if they were married with a family, children’s toys could be seen in the gardens, etc. Humphreys also wanted to find out more about the home circumstances of the men and argued that observation was insufficient in itself to draw an appropriate inference about the men, to get a fuller picture he needed to interview them. It was at this time that in his role as a research associate at Washington University, Humphreys was asked to develop a questionnaire for a social health survey. Humphreys added the names of the men from his observation to the sample to be interviewed for the health survey. The added benefit of the survey being about health was that questions could be legitimately asked about a range of intimate issues in relation to sex and sexuality. Moreover, Humphreys could make a comparison between the group of men he had observed in the toilets and the other men in the survey, giving the research a quasi experimental edge. Humphreys confidently states that: ‘the important thing to note here is that none of the respondents was threatened by the interviews . . . Although I recognized each of the men interviewed from observations of them in the tearooms, there was no indication that they remembered me. I was careful to change my appearance, dress and automobile from the days when I had passed as a deviant. I also allowed at least a year’s time to lapse between the original sampling procedure and the interviews’ (1970: 42). In addition to the stigma attached to homosexuality at the time, the activities that the men were engaged in, in the public toilets, were criminal offences as was Humphreys’ role in watching them. If Humphreys’ data had fallen into the hands of the police department or federal investigative agencies this would have resulted in prosecutions. Although Humphreys maintains that he was not recognised by the men he cannot know this for sure and because of this, it is not possible to say that the data collection process was free from coercion. In the interviews, Humphreys found that closeted men created a moral shield of hyper-conformity which he refers to as the breastplate of righteousness. The men used the breastplate as a protective outer-self to maintain the illusion of leading respectable lives. Many of the men involved had seen active service in the armed forces, 42 per cent were Catholic, 54 per cent were married and 32 per cent were conservative in their political views.

Thinkpiece Ethical questions raised by Humphreys’ research s $IDTHEMENINTHISSTUDYGIVETHEIRINFORMEDCONSENTTOBERESPONDENTSIN this research project?

Tearoom Trade

s )SITETHICALTOPRETENDTOBEANOTHER@GAYGUYTOGAINACCESSTOTHEGAYCOMmunity when you are not gay? s $ID(UMPHREYSBETRAYARELATIONSHIPOFTRUSTATANYTIMEINTHISPROJECT s )SITETHICALTORECORDINFORMATIONABOUTPEOPLEWITHOUTTHEIRKNOWLEDGEAND consent on a ‘systematic observation sheet’ and use a concealed tape recorder? s )SITETHICALTOLIETOA@FRIENDLYPOLICEMAN s !LTHOUGH (UMPHREYS SAID THAT @NONE OF THE RESPONDENTS WAS THREATENED BY the interviews’, is it ethical to put respondents in a position where they might feel threatened? s )SITETHICALTOASKAGROUPOFRESPONDENTSIFTHEYWOULDLIKETOPARTICIPATEIN a health survey when the researcher’s real intention is find out more about a person’s sexuality? s "YADDINGTHEMENTOTHESAMPLEOFPEOPLETOBEINCLUDEDINTHEHEALTHSURVEY has this damaged the validity and reliability of the health survey? s )SITETHICALFORARESEARCHERTOCHANGETHEIRAPPEARANCEINORDERTOCOLLECTDATA

Humphreys ends his book with a short discussion of the ethics of his data collection. He rejects any suggestion that he was involved in misrepresentation. A person’s identity in the tearoom interaction is represented in terms of the role they play: ‘there was no misrepresentation of my part as an observer: I was indeed a “voyeur” . . . The only sign on its door said “Men” which makes me quite eligible for entering’ (1970: pp. 170–1). Humphreys may well have been a voyeur, but it is not clear if he was entirely honest with his reader as to whether he was a sexual voyeur in search of titillation or a sociological voyeur in search of greater understanding. Some of the information reported by Humphreys could not have been collected by observation alone, and according to Carrier (1999): ‘[Humphreys] most likely did more in the tearooms than play the role of lookout – he was in the closet but homosexually active at the time of his study – he probably gathered important information from his own sexual encounters in tearooms yet was unable to reveal that he did so because he did not want to let his family and colleagues know he was gay’ (1999: 218). Several years after the book was published Humphreys left his wife and started to lead an openly gay lifestyle. A second objection that Humphreys discusses is if it is ethical to gather data for purposes that are unknown to the respondent. His argument is that if the data are kept secure and the results are presented in an aggregated fashion then there is no ethical problem. Banks and the Revenue & Customs publish details of people’s income but in a form that cannot be related to any single individual. The systematic observation sheets, interview transcripts and licence plates data were eventually destroyed by Humphreys. However, before they were destroyed the data were placed in a safety deposit box of a bank in a city where no data collection took place.

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Humphreys’ argument is that all interviews have a degree of dishonesty about them and the researcher’s identity is never fully represented to the respondent. The important issue, argues Humphreys, is that we weigh ‘possible social benefits against possible cost in human discomfort’ and acknowledge that ‘no method can be completely safe’ (1970: 170).

Situation ethics For Humphreys the ethics in social science research are situation ethics. The situation ethics approach was developed by Joseph Fletcher, who like Humphreys was also an Episcopalian minister. The approach is based upon the assumption that as long as your intention is to benefit the individuals under investigation, the end justifies the means. In other words, Humphreys’ approach is teleological in nature. His individual actions in the context of the research may be ethically questionable but his motivation was to present the actions of the men he observed in a more positive light. However, if a person disguises their appearance to question individuals about their sexuality, when the respondent knows that the researcher has witnessed them engaged in an illegal sexual activity in a public place and that public knowledge of the events observed would result in the respondent becoming victimised in any number of ways, is this form of data collection ethical or unethical?

What type of researcher are you? At the start of the research project you need to reflect upon the ethics of social research and provide the reader with an ethical statement in which you state a justification for the stance you have taken in relation to the issues raised in this chapter so far. Lee (1993) argues that there are three approaches to the issue of ethical data collection: 1. The absolutist position – this is based upon the assumption that as social researchers we should be moral exemplars and only conduct research in a manner that is ethical. If we cannot get the informed consent of the respondents then we should not conduct the research. Disregarding the rights of the respondents leads researchers to become cynical and treat people as research objects rather than human individuals with feelings. 2. The pragmatic position – is based upon the assumption that we should have the informed consent of the respondents. However, if the benefits of doing research without the informed consent of the respondents outweighs the costs and potential harm to the respondents, then the research should take place. This position recognises the need to protect respondents from harm and maintain their anonymity.

Conclusion

3. The sceptical position – this is based on the assumption that ethically anything goes in social research. The most powerful groups in society can protect themselves from investigation and as such social researchers have found out a great deal of information about people who are the poorest and most powerless in society. It is only by using covert methods that we can get a picture of how the most powerful people operate in society.

Conclusion As a social researcher you need to include an ethical statement in your research report. In this statement you need to explain if you have attempted to gain the informed consent of the respondents and what steps you have taken to achieve this. If there is a covert element in your research then you need to provide a justification for this. It is important to note that BERA and the other bodies mentioned above do not prohibit covert research. All ethical codes begin with a simple premise that right action is ethical and, as such, any action is right if it is in accordance with a moral rule or ethical principle. Codes of research ethics have a tendency to create a conceptual link between the rule, right action and rationality. Ethical approval should not be viewed as a bureaucratic hurdle to be overcome in the research process. The purpose of ethics committees is to prevent misconduct in the research process, defined in terms of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. In summary, getting informed consent from participants in a research project is a common requirement found in all ethical codes of research conduct. In most research projects it is assumed that if a respondent has signed a consent form, then they have given their informed consent. However, the understanding of when informed consent is achieved differs broadly. For some researchers informed consent is achieved when a consent form is completed. Tolich (2004) has suggested that researchers find out from respondents what information they might consider to be damaging. Forms of data alteration, such as only presenting aggregate data, can be very effective at maintaining the confidentiality of the data by hiding the identity of the individual respondents. There are problems with this approach if we wish to include children as respondents in our research. The traditional approach to the study of children in social research is paternalistic. A child’s welfare is dependent upon the adults in their lives, notably parents and teachers who are legally responsible for the care of the child. Children are protected by the Children Act (1989) and in addition under the Child Protection Act (1999), a researcher cannot promise to maintain the confidentiality or anonymity of a child.

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Finally the chapter looked in some detail at Humphreys’ (1970) research which investigated men involved in homosexual encounters in public places. Humphreys’ ethical stance is founded upon situation ethics. This study raised serious ethical questions: Humphreys’ data could not have been collected by observation alone, but is it ethical to gather data for purposes that are unknown to the respondent?

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! The ethics of researching zoos All research practice requires an awareness of ethical issues. As a social researcher Erica needs to include an ethical statement in her research report. As we saw in the chapter a code of ‘ethics’ is a set of moral principles about how researchers should conduct themselves whilst collecting the data for their research project. Erica needs to obtain the ‘informed consent’ of her respondents before she can collect the data she needs. One approach she could adopt would be to provide each respondent with a written statement in which she explains who she is, provides contact details, outlines what the research project is about, who will read the project, who will read the responses given by the respondent and if the respondent’s identity will be protected and/or made anonymous. Many zoo visitors are children. Children are unable to give their consent to participate in a research project. Erica assumes that if a child is visiting the zoo with parents or legal guardians then the parents or legal guardians can consent for their children to be part of a research project. However, if a child is visiting the zoo with grandparents or adult family friends, or on a school trip, can Erica assume that a grandparent, an adult family friend or teacher can give consent for a child to be a respondent in Erica’s research project? What does Erica need to do? Firstly she needs to take advice from the member of staff who is her supervisor. The supervisor will be in a position to give information about the ethical oversight policy and procedures within the institution. Erica also needs to write an ethical statement and include this in her research project. In this statement she need to explain how she managed to obtain the informed consent of the respondents, explain what possible harm a respondent could face from their involvement in the research project, and how issues of confidentially and anonymity were addressed.

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Bibliography Alderson, P. (1995) Listening to Children: Children, Ethics and Social Research, Barkingside: Barnardo’s. Alderson, P. (2000) ‘Children as Researchers: The Effects of Participation Rights on Research Methodology’, in P. Christensen and A. James (eds) Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices, London: Falmer Press. Allen, C. (1997) ‘Spies Like Us: When Sociologists Deceive Their Subjects’, Lingua Franca, November: 31–9. Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., Akert, R. and Fehr, B. (2007) Social psychology, Toronto, Canada: Prentice-Hall. Beauchamp, T.L. and Childress, J.F. (2001) Principles of Biomedical Ethics (5th edn), Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brody, J.L., Cluck, J.P. and Aragon, A.S. (1997) ‘Participants’ Understanding of the Process of Psychological Research: Informed Consent’, Ethics & Behavior, 7(4): 285–98. BERA (2004) Revised Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research at www.bera.ac.uk/ publications/guides.php Berkun, M.M., Bialek, H.M., Kern, R.P. and Yagi, K. (1962) ‘Experimental studies of psychological stress in man’, Psychological Monograph, 76(134): 1–39. Carrier, K. (1999) ‘The Social Environment of Second Language Listening: Does Status Play a Role in Comprehension?’, The Modern Language Learning, 83(1): 65–79. Clarke, L. (1996) ‘Covert participant observation in a secure forensic unit’, Nursing Times, 92(48): 37–40. Cullity, G. (1999) ‘Virtue Ethics, Theory, and Warrant’, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 2: 277–94. Department of Health (2001) Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care, London: HMSO. Faden, R.R. and Beauchamp, T.L. (1986) A history and theory of informed consent, New York: Oxford University Press. Gtunder, T.M. (1978) ‘Two formulas for determining the readability of subject consent forms’, American Psychologist, 33: 773–5. Haggerty, K. (2004) ‘Ethics Creep: Governing Social Science Research in the Name of Ethics’, Qualitative Sociology, 27(4): 391–414. Humphreys, L. (1970) Tearoom Trade. A study of homosexual encounters in public places, London: Duckworth. Hursthouse, R. (1991) ‘Virtue Theory and Abortion’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 20(3): 223–46. Lee, R. (1993) Doing Research on Sensitive Subjects, London: Sage. Lindsay, G. (2000) ‘Researching Children’s Perspectives: Ethical Issues’, in A. Lewis and G. Lindsay (eds) Researching Children’s Perspectives, Buckingham: Open University Press. Lynoe, N. (1999) Mellan cowboyetik och scoutmoral. Medicinsk forskningsetik i praktiken, Kristianstad: Liber.

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Thomas, N. and O’Kane, C. (1998) ‘The Ethics of Participatory Research with Children’, Children and Society, 12(5): 336–48. Tolich, M. (2004) ‘Internal confidentiality: When confidentiality assurances fail relational informants’, Qualitative Sociology, 27: 101–6. Wiles, R., Crow, G., Charles, V. and Heath, S. (2003) ‘Informed Consent and the Research Process: Following Rules or Striking Balances?’, Sociological Research Online, 12(2), www.socresonline.org.uk/12/2/wiles.html

3 Searching and reviewing the literature By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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Introduction A review of the relevant literature in the area that you are investigating is an important element of any research project. As we shall see in this chapter the literature review can provide you with a justification for your study; allow you to comment on how your study is related to other research in the area; give you advice on avoiding problems faced by previous researchers; and play a role in the discussion of your findings by allowing you to comment on how your findings are similar to or different from other research in the area. The important issue of plagiarism is also addressed in the chapter. You should not engage in plagiarism because it is a form of malpractice that could result in failure of your assessed research project or even more severe penalties. This chapter will look at why people copy other researchers’ words and ideas without acknowledgement.

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Constructing literature reviews ‘A literature review is a systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and interpreting the existing body of work produced by researchers’ (Fink 1998: 37). There are several important reasons for conducting a review of the literature in the area that you are interested in investigating. If you are a student doing a research project as part of an assessment, there will be a number of marks allocated for searching the relevant research and writing a review. Also if you believe that your research project is original and that you are on the verge of making a new contribution to knowledge, you might want to find out whether or not your research project is as unique or original as you think. In other words, has some other researcher had the same idea before you? As Helen Gunter points out: ‘[this] intellectual method cannot promise genius, it should at least forestall stupidity’ (2005: 166). Much of the research that you will read will not be making a completely new contribution to knowledge but is likely to be adding to the existing stock of knowledge by reinforcing a given theory or well-established perspective. In other words, there is nothing wrong with doing a research project that sets out to rediscover the wheel as much academic work is of this nature.

Why do I need to justify my research question? It is important for any researcher to justify the need for their research project. If you are attempting to develop a unique research question you will need to demonstrate that the issues have not been addressed by other researchers in the past. Alternatively, if the person assessing you work, or others, feels that your project is trivial the literature review will help you to demonstrate that your project is addressing a legitimate and worthwhile subject to investigate. The literature review will help to place your project within the context of existing research in the area. This is particularly important if you can identify an aspect of the current research that is inadequate, or if you can identify conflicting or ambiguous research findings. The literature review allows you to demonstrate how existing research supports your question or hypothesis before you present your own findings. For the vast majority of research projects there is far more literature about existing research than you can fit into a literature review, so you need to have a clear set of criteria for deciding which books, articles and papers you are going to include and which you are going to exclude. The review should not be subjective and you should have a short

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statement at the beginning of your review explaining which research you have focused on and why. One of the central reasons for having a clear and justifiable set of criteria for the construction of your review is that literature reviews are central to any discussion and analysis of your research findings.

Assessment issues Most assessment criteria for the allocation of marks to a student research project will allocate a significant number of marks for a discussion and analysis of the data you have found. One of the most common and effective approaches to a discussion of findings is to make a prediction of what you would expect to find in the field, using your literature review as a guide, and then compare what you expected to find with what you really did find. This approach is referred to as ‘pattern matching’ and will be more fully explained in Chapter 6 on the case study method. It is unusual to generate data that are exactly what you expected to find on the basis of your review; likewise it is just as unusual to generate data that are exactly what you did not expect to find. Reality is often somewhere between the two, and it is up to you as the researcher to infer the most reasonable conclusions from the findings that you have produced. Using other people’s research is central to any process of inference in social research.

Identifying variables and indicators In many research projects you are expected to identify the relationship between two variables. Variables are concepts or ideas that our research projects investigate and indicators are tangible things that can be used to measure the impact of a variable. If we were interested in studying poverty for example we would need to identify an indicator such as low income that indicated that a person was in poverty. The literature review will also allow you to identify clearly the variables and appropriate indicators for your project; in other words, the review will help to decide on the most appropriate questions to ask, for example in a questionnaire or interview. The review will also give you examples of good practice, for example in terms of appropriate methods of data collection and data analysis used by experienced researchers in the field who have investigated questions similar to yours. A literature review is not a list; rather the review should be as comprehensive a discussion as possible of the research that is of direct relevance to your research project. It is good idea to think of the literature review as a short essay that outlines and evaluates the research in the area that you are investigating. In the review process you have to become an active reader. This means that you only abstract (take) information from a source that is of direct relevance to your project.

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Tips on becoming an active reviewer s 9OUMUSTATTEMPTTOIDENTIFYTHEUNDERLYINGORHIDDENASSUMPTIONSWITHINAN author’s work and make these clear to your reader. s )DENTIFY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OR POINTS OF VIEW WITHIN THE BODY OF RESEARCH that are addressing the same question or issue that you are looking at. This will allow you to position your findings in relation to other researchers in the field and give your review a focus and critical feel. s )FYOUlNDITDIFlCULTTOSUMMARISEANAUTHORSWORK ORYOUCANNOTIDENTIFY any positive or critical points, then consider using book reviews. Book reviews often provide a sound summary of a book’s argument, together with some informed evaluation and commentary on the content. In any area of social research there is usually a small number of internationally respected experts in the field and you need to include these in your review. But how do you identify these ‘big names’ if you are new to the field? One option is to identify who has been published/cited most often in research. The other option is to ask! If you are a student you will have been allocated a supervisor for your project, or there will be a person who has set the assignment. Your supervisor will direct you towards what you need to read. In addition, as your review is under construction ask if any major studies have been excluded from your review. It is important to focus your review on good quality studies that have rigorous research standards. You must look at the validity and the reliability of the research and publications that you intend to include in your review. One of the purposes of this book is not only to help you conduct your own research projects, but also to help you to evaluate the quality of other people’s research. Each chapter will look at the appropriateness of given methods of data collection and data analysis for specific research projects. This will allow you to apply a set of criteria in relation to validity and reliability to a piece of research that will help you to decide if it should be included or excluded from your review. In the last analysis, your review should be high quality and comprehensive.

Journals All disciplines have a number of high-quality internationally-recognised academic journals and as a researcher you can almost certainly rely upon the quality of the articles within them. For example, it is not unreasonable to expect that a Sociologist could rely upon the British Journal of Sociology, a Leisure Studies student upon Leisure Studies and a Management student upon the Harvard Business Review. Articles in such journals are peer reviewed by experts in the field who comment on the quality of the research for an editorial board made up of other experts in the field. Moreover the articles are written by well-qualified and experienced academics. Therefore searching the relevant journals is a very good place to start your review process.

Journals

Searching journal articles If you are doing your review of the literature for an assessment as part of a module, your supervisor will have given you some recommended or indicative reading and suggested some journals that are worth looking at. This is a very good place to start your search. However, there will be an expectation that you should seek out relevant, up-to-date and high-quality articles that have not been recommended to you. By identifying ideas and arguments that are not suggested to you by your supervisor you will be rewarded with higher marks! University libraries purchase collections of high-quality academic journals that are available as hard copies or online. Online collections such as SwetsWise, Informa World etc. are available via your university library website and they allow users to search through many hundreds of publications by looking for key words, authors, titles, words within the abstract, or words within the journals articles themselves. Searches can be limited by time frame, such as after 2009 or before 1998. To make effective use of such online library services you need to form your research question in very precise terms, otherwise you will be presented with thousands of potentially irrelevant articles. Your key variables are a good starting point; search for articles with the same variables as your own research project. One of the most effective methods of searching for relevant journal articles is by the use of key words. In most journal articles, on the first page after the abstract (a summary of the argument including the conclusions reached) there are five or so key words. These key words will be the central variables or key concepts within the article. If an article is addressing the same key words as your research project it is probably worth looking at it. What key words should you use? This depends on your research question and the more specific the question the more specific the search and the more relevant will be the findings.

Example Below is the abstract and key words from a journal article written by Sølvi Helseth and Åshild Slettebø (2004): ‘In a Norwegian study on how children aged 7 to 12 years cope during a period of serious illness within the family and on their quality of life at this time, several ethical questions became apparent. These were mainly concerned with the vulnerability of children during research, with their ability to make autonomous decisions, and with considerations regarding how to respect their right to confidentiality during the research process. In this article we approach these questions using our experience from this previous study, discussing them within the framework of theories of ethics and relevant research ethical guidelines. Finally, we discuss our experience in the light of the overall purpose of this article: how to deal with the ethical dilemmas that may appear during research involving young children.’ Key words: assent/consent; children; confidentiality; research ethics; vulnerability

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It is important to know your own variables, central concepts and ideas as this will help you identify you own key words.

Activity Looking at the following research questions, choose one question and identify what you would consider to be the five key words for that question. 1. In the United Kingdom, the Gambling Act (2005) established the Gambling Commission, a Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but funded by licence fees from the gambling industry. What is the role of the Gambling Commission? How effective do you consider the Gambling Commission to be in performing its role? 2. In the United Kingdom, New Leisure Trusts are said to occupy ‘a middle ground between the public and private sectors’ (Simmons 2001: 101) and according to Pringle trusts can: ‘Escape from the dead hand of a Council’s central departments who have often pursued their own agenda rather than that of the service they nominally support’ (2001: 44). What is a New Leisure Trust? Why would a local authority want to establish a New Leisure Trust? 3. What do you understand by the term Public Service Broadcasting? What problems do Public Service providers face providing the public with access to sport on television? 4. To what extent has the concept of ‘heritage’ turned history into entertainment for profit? 5. Outline and evaluate the criteria for the allocation of Lottery Funding in the area of either Arts or Sport in the United Kingdom.

Textbooks Library books are also a very important resource for your literature review. However, a word of warning about textbooks. Subject textbooks give the reader an introduction to the subject area and they are designed to support the student. Textbooks are usually not included in a literature review, because they typically contain summaries and a discussion of other people’s research. In other words, by using a textbook you are using another person’s review of the literature in the area. In addition, textbooks have a tendency to provide the reader with a shorthand summary of an area that can oversimplify the original author’s arguments. It is always better to find original research and

The internet

write you own summary and evaluation of the argument and evidence presented. However, textbooks can be a very good source of ideas for research projects. In addition, they often provide very good summaries of the most important theories and ideas of the central thinkers in an area.

The Dewey System To get the most out of your library you must be familiar with the Dewey System, which is also known as the Dewey Decimal Classification and the Dewey Decimal System. This is a system of library classification developed in 1876 by Melvil Dewey and still used today by library staff to organise books in a predictable manner to help researchers conduct their literature reviews more quickly and efficiently. Books that are on the same subject have the same Dewey classification number and are placed next to each other on the shelf alphabetically according to the author’s family name. Sociology books have the classification number 301 and books about reflexive sociology have the classification number 301/583.

Example If you took an interest in the work of Loïc Wacquant, for example, and you wanted to know more about his approach, you might be interested in reading a book that he wrote with Pierre Bourdieu called An invitation to reflexive sociology. This book has the classification number 301/B583 because Bourdieu is the first named author. If you wanted to compare Bourdieu and Wacquant’s approach to reflexive sociology with that of other authors you need to look at the books placed on the shelves near to their book that share the same Dewey number 301/583.

The internet Is everything published on the internet worthwhile and suitable for inclusion in your literature review? Anybody with internet access can produce their own website and give the world the value of their knowledge. There are issues about the validity and reliability of information available online because unlike journal articles, the content of most websites is not peer reviewed. It is important that you read any source, whether online or in hard copy, with a critical eye. Look out for prejudices, misinformation, lies and simple misunderstanding.

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Google There is no doubt that Google has revolutionised the internet. Vise (2005) claims that Google is as important as the invention of the printing press. Whether you agree with that or not there is no doubt that Google is a very successful global company that has allowed people to get much greater use from the internet. In 1998 Larry Page and Sergey Brin filed a patent for the algorithm PageRank; this is the software that allows Google to provide users with more specific search results than other searches at the time and in a much shorter time. And through the use of sponsored links that are also specifically related to the searches the user is making at the time, Google makes money without having to rely on pop-up adverts that slow down the search and take up a large part of the screen. With sponsored links, companies pay Google a certain amount every time the link is clicked. Sponsored links appear on the right-hand side of the screen that is triggered by key word searches, so both the search and the adverts should be relevant to the interests of the user. Google is thus financially dependent on the sponsored links that appear on its web pages. Many Google users are unsure about which links are sponsored links. If you access a webpage via a sponsored link you have to keep in mind that you are accessing a website via an advertisement, albeit one which PageRank has identified as relevant to your search.

How does PageRank work? PageRank is said by Google to be ‘uniquely democratic’ in nature by providing each individual page a value based upon Google’s estimation of the status of the webpage, in a similar manner to the way academic journals are judged in the academic community. Google interprets a link from one page to another in terms of a vote, by page A, for page B. Google is not only concerned with the number of votes, or links a webpage receives, it also makes a judgement about the page that casts the vote. Therefore if a university has a link to a given site then that will count more than an isolated individual. High-quality web pages receive a higher PageRank that Google takes into account each time a search is conducted. You might want to reflect for a moment on whether this system of ranking webpage is subjective or not.

Although you should treat with caution any web pages found using Google or any other search engine, do not dismiss them out of hand as there is great deal of very useful information on the internet and as researchers we should make use of this resource. In addition, Google Books and Google Scholar are useful resources for the active researcher. However, you need to have a firm set of criteria to evaluate if a website is worth using or not.

When to end your search of the literature

Evaluation of a webpage Harris (1997) devised the checklist below to help students make an informed judgment about the quality of information contained within a webpage. It contains some very useful advice, in the form of a list of questions that you can use to evaluate web pages in terms of their validity and reliability. s )STHECONTENTOFTHEWEBPAGECURRENTANDUP TO DATEWITHRECENTEVENTSINTHElELD s )SITPOSSIBLETOIDENTIFYTHEAUTHORSAUTHORITYTOSPEAKONTHEISSUECONCERNEDARE the author’s educational background and/or qualifications identified? s 7HOHASPUBLISHEDTHEWEBPAGE)SITHOSTEDBYARELIGIOUSORGANISATION APOLITICAL organisation such as a pressure group or new social movement? s $OESTHEARTICLEHAVEADISTINCTPERSPECTIVE POINTOFVIEW ORBIAS s )STHECONTENTOFTHEARTICLEWELLORGANISED)SITPRESENTEDINASTRUCTUREDWAY s $OES THIS ARTICLE LIST CITATIONS AND REFERENCES )F SO THEN IS IT WORTH LOOKING UP A number of the references to see if they are verifiable? s )STHEREEVIDENCETHATTHEARTICLEHASBEENPEERVIEWED

Activity Collect four sources from the internet that draw upon any one concept that you feel is central to your understanding of your discipline or subject area. Write a commentary of approximately 500 words for each source in which you outline and evaluate the validity and reliability of the source. In the commentary you might want to comment on how well the sources fare in relation to the Harris checklist.

When to end your search of the literature There does come a time when you have to end your search for suitable literature, but at what point do you stop searching? How long is too long to spend searching for relevant books and articles? This can be a surprisingly difficult question to answer, as perhaps the next look in the library catalogue, or on Google or SwetsWise might include that really important piece of research or argument that you need. Well it might, but assignments have deadlines and you will be penalised for submitting an assignment late. One approach is to allocate an amount of time for doing the search. My own approach is that I will stop searching when I no longer find new studies. If I am using the online library services or an internet search engine, and the same documents keep appearing, even when I have defined and redefined my key words, and opened up my search over longer and longer time frames etc., then it is at this point that I decide my search is at an end.

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Good examples of literature reviews Daniel Muijs, Alma Harris, Christopher Chapman, Louise Stoll and Jennifer Russ (2004) ‘Improving Schools in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Areas – A Review of Research Evidence’ in School Effectiveness and School Improvement (2004), Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 149–175. Helen Gunter (2005) ‘Conceptualizing research in Educational Leadership’ in Educational Management Administration and Leadership, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 165–180.

Plagiarism Your literature review will almost certainly produce some excellent studies that you will want to incorporate into your research project. However, it is very important that you acknowledge the source that you are using and not attempt to ‘pass off ’ other people’s words or ideas as if they were your own work. The practice of using other researchers’ ideas and/or words as if they were your own is known as plagiarism, and if you are an undergraduate student you will be penalised if you are caught engaging in this activity. A student once asked me: ‘How much does a source need to be changed to avoid plagiarism?’ This question raises a number of important issues about the attitude of many students towards assessment, authorship and intellectual property in general. It is commonly assumed that with the greater accessibility of the internet and the greater sophistication of search engine software, there are many more opportunities for students to plagiarise (Underwood and Szabo 2003). Because a great deal of information is available free on the internet and in some cases, such as Wikipedia, you can edit and redraft pages that you read, an assumption has emerged that no one person or organisation has ownership over the material presented on the internet and students can use this material without the need to acknowledge that the ideas or the words used have come from another published source. It is very important that you do not share the assumption that material from the internet can be used without the need to acknowledge that the ideas or the words used have come from another published source. Your work needs to be original. Your research projects need to be a product of your own individual effort. In recent years awarding bodies in the UK have taken a much tougher stance in relation to plagiarism. The OCR newsletter Uplink (2006: 1) reported that in public examinations in the UK, cases of plagiarism rose from 67 in 2004 to 167 in 2005 primarily because of ‘copying’ from the internet. However, OCR explained that the increase in reporting might have been a product of the Joint Committee on Qualification’s greater emphasis on plagiarism. This message has been reinforced in a range of other documents. Awarding bodies and university departments are far better

Plagiarism

at identifying work that is from another published source than they ever were in previous years.

What exactly is plagiarism? For Park: ‘the act of plagiarising means “to appropriate (ideas, passages, etc) from (another work or author)”. Plagiarism involves literary theft, stealing (by copying) the words or ideas of someone else and passing them off as one’s own without crediting the source’ (2003: 472). Scollon argues, that the Western literary tradition: ‘tends to presuppose a common ideological ground in the creative, original, individual who, as an autonomous scholar, presents his/her work to the public in his/her name’ (1995: 1). This is another way of saying that in societies such as ours individual people have ideas, conduct research and publish findings in their own name and as such that person claims ownership over those ideas and words used, in the original published account, to express them. Park (2003) goes on to give an outline of the literature on plagiarism: ‘the unoriginal sin’ (Colon, 2001), ‘thought thief ’ (Whiteneck, 2002), ‘intellectual shoplifter’ (Stebelman, 1998), and ‘a disease of inarticulateness’ (Bowers, 1994). Park argues that students plagiarise in a number of ways: s BY STEALING MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER SOURCE AND @PASSING OFF  THE WORDS OR IDEAS AS their own; this may involve buying a paper from an online service such as www. writework.com, www.schoolsucks.com, www.buypapers.com, www.termpapers.com or www.ivyessays.com; s COPYINGFROMASOURCETEXTWITHOUTREFERENCETOTHEORIGINALSOURCE s SUBMITTINGWORKWRITTENBYSOMEONEELSEORCLOSELYPARAPHRASINGMATERIALWITHOUT reference to the original source. You may disagree with Park that buying an essay from a website is stealing, but for the people assessing your work it is. You are pretending to have knowledge that you do not possess. The work you hand in with your name attached must be from your own intellectual efforts. Park found that some plagiarism is unintentional in nature, rooted in a lack of understanding of appropriate ways of quoting, paraphrasing, citing and referencing sources or simple carelessness by integrating notes made during research into an assignment. However, intentional plagiarism is often motivated by a student’s desire to get a better grade and/or to save time. Personal values/attitudes also have a role to play, a number of students: ‘see no reason why they should not plagiarise or do it because of social pressure, because it makes them feel good or because they regard short cuts as clever and acceptable’ (Park 2003: 479). Finally, Park identifies ‘defiance’ as a possible cause:

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‘To some students plagiarism is a tangible way of showing dissent and expressing a lack of respect for authority’ (Park 2003: 479).

Thinkpiece If someone plagiarised your work how would you feel: flattered or annoyed?

Research into plagiarism There is surprisingly little research into plagiarism but what research there is might give you an idea as to what motivates people to plagiarise and hopefully to avoid becoming a plagiariser yourself. Gajadhar (1998) argues that some students assume that material on the internet is ‘free’ and can be reused without making reference to the original source. One of the first systematic studies in the area was carried out by Bowers (1964) who conducted a self-report study on 5000 American students across 99 campuses and found that 82 per cent of the sample admitted to one or more instances of plagiarism in written assignments. Similarly, McCabe and Trevino (1993) found that from 6000 responses from students in 31 American colleges to a postal questionnaire, 67 per cent admitted to at least one instance of plagiarism. According to Adenekan: ‘Universities cite “laziness”, “lack of appropriate preparation for assessment”, “peer pressure and pressure to pass modules and gain good grades” as some of the reasons students have given for cheating’ (2003: 1). According to Stoerger (undated): ‘A survey done by Rutgers’ Management Education Center found that “of 4500 high school students, 75 per cent of them engage in serious cheating”. Many of these students do not consider these acts of plagiarism to be wrong’. Saltmarsh (2004) argues that one of the causes of plagiarism is the growing pressure that students are under because of the increasing marketisation of education. Students are expected to work in order to meet the cost of higher education and to excel in their studies. This is a point supported by Park who argues that students: ‘are faced with many temptations to plagiarize, because many of them now have to work part-time to support their studies, they produce coursework in large quantities and to tight deadlines, and they are under mounting pressure to perform well to justify the investment in studying for a degree’ (2004: 293). However, warns Park: ‘Plagiarism by students is a moral maze, because it raises important ethical and moral questions about good/bad or right/wrong behaviour and about acceptable/unacceptable practices. Who decides it is wrong, on what basis and for what reasons?’ (2003: 474). We cannot leave our discussion of plagiarism without briefly mentioning the offensive nature of some of the published work in the area. Leask (2006) argues that plagiarism is a culturally constructed, politicised and culturally loaded concept with an international dimension (Chanock, 2003; Hamilton et al., 2003; Handa and Power, 2003). Asian students are said by some to be ‘persistent plagiarisers’ (Deckert 1993: 131). According

Wikipedia

to Leask (2006) this opinion represents a form of ‘Orientalism’* based upon the assumption that Western styles of thinking and academic practice are superior to that of ‘the Other’, although, as Leask goes on to explain, there has been a number of challenges to the stereotype of the inferior Asian learner (Pennycook 1996; Biggs 1997; Kelly and Ha 1998; Melles 2003).

What is this moral maze and why are students lost in it? In terms of practical advice on plagiarism the message is simple: if you are taking information, words or ideas from a source, then you need to acknowledge the source that you have used. This may be easy to say but difficult to fully understand for some students. In Jordan’s (2001) sample of students, 85 per cent said that cheating could not be justified, yet 54.9 per cent reported that they had engaged in plagiarism. Is this an instance of inconsistency and confusion by the students, or is there a more fundamental factor underpinning these figures? More likely, these figures reinforce Gajadhar’s (1998) point that some students assume that material on the internet is ‘free’ and can be reused without making reference to the original source. The current generation of undergraduates does not regard the internet as novel. Watts describes the internet as a ‘tool among many’ (2003: 11). More importantly, the internet has brought with it a new conception of the relationship between authorship and ownership. Within a Western literary tradition, authorship of a text is understood as ownership of that text. Contrast this, for example, to students making use of P2P technology to download music or video. Such downloads are not regarded as intellectual theft, but as ‘file sharing’; a defence that has had some success in the courts. For many students the use of ‘file sharing’ and ‘sampling’ by performers has helped to redefine the Western literary tradition from one in which authorship is equated with ownership to one in which sampling from a range of sources from the internet and elsewhere is not regarded as cheating, or intellectual theft, but a legitimate ‘derivative’ creative act. However, it is important to keep in mind that for the purpose of assessment the old-fashioned Western literary tradition of authorship is alive and well. If you engage in a form of ‘sampling’ in your assessed work you will be penalised.

Wikipedia Wikipedia is an internet-based encyclopedia that is written collaboratively by anybody who wants to contribute. It is important for students to note that academic teachers do not regard Wikipedia as a serious academic source and discourage students from using it. * ‘Orientalism’ is a term that is rooted in Western culture that caricatures Asia and the East in general as fundamentally inferior to the West.

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According to Elia (2006) Wikipedia is one of the most popular reference websites receiving in the region of 50 million hits per day. Wikipedia is very popular amongst students, although given the nature of its construction you should be concerned about the validity and reliability of the encyclopedia’s content. However, in terms of the notion of ‘authorship’, what is significant about Wikipedia is that it encourages users to edit contributions to the encyclopedia. The resulting contributions are the product of many individuals working independently of each other, taking, borrowing and refashioning contributions without reference to any traditional conception of authorship as ownership. When a student views the construction of an assignment as a form of sampling, the student can legitimately feel that they can sign a declaration of academic integrity and affirm that the work is their own because they feel that it is. Rather than an attempt by the student to seek to gain an unfair advantage, we might argue that this form of plagiarism is a consumptive practice. Within the Wikipedia community knowledge is collective and ideas are generated collectively within a ‘thread mode’ of reorganising and synthesising; no one author has ownership over these ideas. If they belong to anybody, then they belong to the Wikipedia community who are described on the Wikipedia website as a ‘conscious, self-modifying entity’. As Elia explains: ‘Traditional writing creates a gap between writer and reader. Wiki technology mediates the gap because the two actors assume interchangeable roles in this new open e-environment. To conclude, wiki text is never static as it is considered revisable, a-temporal as nodes continually change through the collaborative writing process, creating a never ending evolving network of topics’ (2006: 2). If you want to make use of Wikipedia then do so but it is important to repeat the point that for the purpose of assessment the old-fashioned Western literary tradition of authorship is alive and well. If you take from Wikipedia without acknowledging the source of the words or ideas in your assessed work you will be penalised.

Quoting and referencing If there is a sentence or paragraph from another author that you really would like to include in your literature review then you should quote the source and fully reference it. Also if you are using the ideas of another author, or if you are paraphrasing an author, then again you must acknowledge the source. There are a number of reference systems, but one of the most popular is the Harvard System, which will be discussed here. With the Harvard System, in the text and after a quote you normally give the family name of the author, date of publication and page number, all of which will be in brackets as in the example following.

%FWFMPQJOH
B
CJCMJPHSBQIZ

Example ‘Educators . . . should reject forms of schooling that marginalize students who are poor, black and least advantaged. This points to the necessity for developing school practices that recognize how issues related to gender, class, race and sexual orientation can be used as a resource for learning rather than being contained in schools through a systemic pattern of exclusion, punishment and failure’ (Giroux 2003: 10).

If there are two authors then you give both family names and the date of publication, such as Ramanathan and Makoni (2007). If there are three or more authors then you give the family name of the first author followed by et al. followed by the date of publication: for example Smith et al. (2010). It is also regarded as good practice to use quotes sparingly. Many teachers suggest that one quote per page is more than enough; this would mean that for a 2000 word assignment you should have no more than five quotes.

Paraphrasing If you want to paraphrase Giroux, you could say: Giroux (2003) suggests that. . . . If you want to paraphrase several authors who share the same point of view, you can use a folio, which is a list of authors and dates at the end of a sentence, as in the example below from Ramanathan and Makoni (2007).

Example ‘These discourses, of which societal discourses are a part (since the latter tend on the whole to reify the former), have typically dehumanized “patients” and have attempted to understand them primarily in terms of their malfunctioning body parts (Bury, 1998; Scambler & Higgs, 1998; Watson-Gegeo, 2005; Williams, 1999)’ (Ramanathan and Makoni 2007: 284).

Developing a bibliography All your citations should be included in a bibliography. With the Harvard System, the bibliography is placed at the end of your research project, all authors are listed in alphabetical order by family name of the first author, followed by a comma, then the initial of the first name of the author or authors, year of publication in brackets, title

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of the book in italics, place of publication, publisher and ending with a full stop; as in the following example: Butler, J. (2004) Undoing Gender, London: Routledge. In the case of journal articles, the format is author or author’s family name and initials, date of publication in brackets, title of article, name of journal in italics, volume number, issue number, and page numbers of the article from start to finish, for example: Ramanathan, V. and Makoni, S. (2007) ‘Bringing the body back: the (mis)languaging of bodies in bio-medical, societal and post structuralist discourses on diabetes and epilepsy’, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 4(4): 283–306. The importance of having a correctly referenced assignment with a full and complete bibliography cannot be over-stressed. Apart from the simple fact that marking schemes almost always reward the student with a number of marks for referencing and bibliography, correct referencing and a full bibliography will both demonstrate the comprehensiveness of your literature search and prevent any suggestion that you have plagiarised the work of others.

Conclusion This chapter has looked at the nature of the literature review within a research project. The review is not a list but a critical evaluation of the relevant research in the area that you are investigating, that allows you to position your research in the field. The review can be used to demonstrate the originality of your own work and identify problems or issues within the field. Reviews also give some advice on appropriate methods of data analysis and data collection methods, in that you can if you wish use the methods that are most common in the field. Reviews also have a role to play in the analysis and discussion of your findings through such techniques as ‘pattern matching’. The documents we use can come from a variety of sources: hard copies of books and papers in libraries, online library services and the internet. However, you must always be prepared to acknowledge a source that you use and reference it in an appropriate manner.

Conclusion

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Searching and reviewing the literature As we have seen in the chapter the literature review has a number of important roles to play in a research project: s )T CAN HELP THE RESEARCHER PLACE THEIR RESEARCH PROJECT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF other research in the field. s )TPROVIDESTHERESEARCHERWITHAJUSTIlCATIONFORDOINGTHESTUDY s )TPROVIDESADVICEONAVOIDINGPROBLEMSFACEDBYPREVIOUSRESEARCHERS s )T PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DISCUSSION OF THE lNDINGS BY ALLOWING THE researcher to comment on how their findings are similar to or different from other research in the field. However, before Erica can start her evaluation she needs initially to find out what the legal obligations that zoos are under when it comes to providing visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability. By typing the words ‘zoo’, ‘biodiversity and sustainability’ into the Google search engine Erica found a document about zoos published by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2004. The document is called The Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (DEFRA 2004) and Chapter 7 outlines the conservation and education measures that all zoos have to provide for visitors. The document explained that the European Community’s Zoos Directive (1999/22/EC) made it a formal statutory requirement that all zoos across the European Union should put into practice the following measures: ‘(a) participating in research from which conservation benefits accrue to the species, and/or training in relevant conservation skills, and/or the exchange of information relating to species conservation and/or, where appropriate, captive breeding, repopulation or reintroduction of species into the wild and; (b) promoting public education and awareness in relation to the conservation of biodiversity, particularly by providing information about the species exhibited and their natural habitats’ (cited in DEFRA 2004: Chapter 7, p. 1). These requirements were incorporated into the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. According to DEFRA (2004: Chapter 7, p. 1): ‘In addition to these statutory requirements, as a general principle zoos should establish ethical review processes and, where appropriate, seek appropriate help in planning and implementing their conservation and education strategies.’ On the basis of this information Erica has a much clearer idea of what information zoos are expected to provide to visitors.

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Bibliography Adenekan, S. (2003) ‘Students using the net to cheat’, www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ education/3265143.stm Biggs, J. (1997) ‘Teaching across and within cultures, the issue of international students’, paper presented at the Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Conference, Advancing International Perspectives, Adelaide, South Australia, 8–11 July. Bowers, N. (1994) ‘A loss for words’, American Scholar, 63: 545–56. Bowers, W.J. (1964) Student dishonesty and its control in college, New York: Columbia Bureau of Applied Research. Chanock, K. (2003) ‘Before we hang that highwayman: the LAS advisers’ perspective on plagiarism’, in H. Marsden and M. Hicks (eds) ‘Educational integrity: plagiarism and other perplexities’, Proceedings of the Inaugural Educational Integrity Conference, University of South Australia, Adelaide, November, pp. 19–25. Clegg, S. and Flint, A. (2006) ‘More heat than light: plagiarism in its appearing’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27(3): 373–87. Colon, A. (2001) ‘Avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism’, Writer, 114(1): 8. Deckert, G.D. (1993) ‘Perspectives on plagiarism from ESL students in Hong Kong’, Journal of Second Language Writing, 2(2): 131–48. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2004) The Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice, London: DEFRA. www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/ zoos/standards-zoo-practice Elia, A. (2006) ‘An analysis of Wikipedia digital writing’, http://www.sics.se/jussi/ newtext/working_notes/04_elia_new.pdf Franklyn-Stokes, A. and Newstead, S. (1995) ‘Undergraduate cheating: who does what and why?’, Studies in Higher Education, 20(2): 159–72. Gajadhar, J. (1998) ‘Issues in Plagiarism for the New Millennium: An Assessment Odyssey’, http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/dec98/gajad1.htm Hamilton, D., Hinton, L. and Hawkins, K. (2003) ‘International Students at Australian Universities: Plagiarism and Culture’, in H. Marsden and M. Hicks (eds) ‘Educational integrity: plagiarism and other perplexities’, Refereed Proceedings of the Inaugural Educational Integrity Conference, University of South Australia, Adelaide, November. Handa, N. and Power, C. (2003) ‘Bridging the gap: lack of integrity or lack of skills?’, in H. Marsden and M. Hicks (eds) ‘Educational integrity: plagiarism and other perplexities’, Proceedings of the Inaugural Educational Integrity Conference, University of South Australia, Adelaide, November, pp. 154–8. Harris, R. (1997) Evaluating Internet Research Sources, Virtual Salt, http://www.virtualsalt. com/evalu8it.htm Helseth, S. and Slettebø, A.S. (2004) ‘Ethical issues in research involving children’, Nursing Ethics, 11(3): 298–308. Hesmondhalgh, D. (2006a) ‘Digitalisation, Copyright and the Music Industries’ in P. Golding and G. Murdock (eds) Unpacking Digital Dynamics: Participation, Control and Exclusion, New York: Hampton Press.

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Hesmondhalgh, D. (2006b) ‘Digital sampling and cultural inequality’, Social and Legal Studies, 15(1). Jones, S. (2002) ‘Music That Moves: Popular Music Distribution and Network Technologies’, Cultural Studies, 16(2): 213–32. Jordan, A.E. (2001) ‘College student cheating: the role of motivation, perceived norms, attitudes, and knowledge of institutional policy’, Ethics and Behavior, 11(3): 233–48. Kaser, D. (2006) ‘Anonymity, Privacy, and Full Disclosure’, Information Today, 23(10), http://www.infotoday.com/it/nov06/kaser.shtml Kelly, M. and Ha, T.S. (1998) ‘Borderless education and teaching and learning cultures: the case of Hong Kong’, Australian Universities’ Review, 1: 26–33. Leask, B. (2006) ‘Plagiarism, cultural diversity and metaphor – implications for academic staff development’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(2): 183–99. Lyon, D. (1988) The Information Society, Cambridge: Polity Press. McCabe, D. and Trevino, L.K. (1993) ‘Academic dishonesty: Honour codes and other contextual influences’, Journal of Higher Education, 64: 522–38. Melles, G. (2003) ‘Challenging discourses of plagiarism and the reproductive ESL learner’, in H. Marsden and M. Hicks (eds) ‘Educational integrity: plagiarism and other perplexities’, Proceedings of the Inaugural Educational Integrity Conference, University of South Australia, Adelaide, November, pp. 60–6. Morgan, M.C. (2006) ‘BlogsandWikis’, http://biro.bemidjistate.edu/morgan/wiki/ wiki.ph OCR (2006) ‘Suspected malpractice in examinations and assessments’, Cambridge: OCR. Park, C. (2003) ‘In Other (People’s) Words: plagiarism by university students – literature and lessons’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(5): 471–88. Park, C. (2004) ‘Rebels without a clause: towards an institutional framework for dealing with plagiarism by students’, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 28(3): 291–306. Pennycook, A. (1996) ‘Borrowing others’ words: text, ownership, memory, and plagiarism’, TESOL Quarterly, 30(2): 201–30. Saltmarsh, S. (2004) ‘Graduating Tactics: theorizing plagiarism as consumptive practice’, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 28(4): 445–54. Scollon, R. (1995) ‘Plagiarism and ideology: identity in intercultural discourse’, Language in Society, 24: 1–28. Self, H. (2002) ‘Digital Sampling: a Cultural Perspective’, UCLA Entertainment Law Review, 9: 347–59. Stoerger, S. (undated) ‘Plagiarism’, www.web-miner.com/plagiarism Stebelman, S. (1998) ‘Cybercheating: dishonesty goes digital’, American Libraries, 29(8): 48–51. Underwood, J. and Szabo, A. (2003) ‘Academic offences and e-learning: individual propensities in cheating’, British Journal of Educational Technology, 34(4): 467–77. Vise, D. (2005) The Google Story, New York: Bantam Dell Publishing Group.

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Wacquant, L. (2007) ‘Territorial stigmatization in the age of advanced marginality’, Thesis Eleven, Number 91, November, pp. 66–77. Watts, P. (2003) The Internet: Brave New World? (Debating Matters), London: Hodder and Stoughton. Whiteneck, P. (2002) ‘What to do with a thought thief ’, Community College Week, 8 July, 14(24): 4–7.

4 Secondary analysis – research using other people’s data By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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Introduction Social researchers make a distinction between data they have personally collected for a research project themselves, known as primary data, and data collected by others, known as secondary data. According to Hinds et al. (1997) the purpose of secondary analysis is to apply alternative points of view or a new perspective to the data collected. Heaton (1998) explains that secondary analysis can involve the use of single or multiple data sets, and makes use of mixed qualitative and quantitative data. She identifies three analytical purposes of secondary analysis: 1. additional in-depth analysis; 2. developing a new perspective on the data; any set of data can be made sense of in a number of ways; 3. developing an analysis of a sub-set from the data.

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Secondary analysis can be used to generate new knowledge or for heuristic purposes (generating new hypotheses), or to find data to support a given theory. Secondary analysis can also be used to enhance the validity of an ethnographic research project by allowing the researcher to generalise from the ethnographic findings to a wider population. Secondary analysis is also useful for looking at sensitive issues, where the researcher feels that they do not have the skills or abilities to collect valid and reliable data, or to collect data where the researcher may be in personal danger. Data from a secondary analysis is also useful when added to the literature review of a research project as it allows the researcher to place arguments from books and papers drawn from different time periods together, allowing them to make an informed judgement about the contemporary relevance of research cited. Data collection is often difficult, expensive, stressful and time consuming for the new researcher. Szabo and Strang (1997) encourage people who are new to research, such as students, to consider secondary analysis because it is a more convenient approach than collecting primary data. As such, you might want to consider if there is an existing dataset that you can draw upon rather than collecting data yourself. In addition, there are some research issues that can only be effectively conducted by using other people’s data; for example projects that look at some health-related issues. Angst and Deatrick (1996) for example, conducted a piece of secondary research that investigated how children with chronic illnesses and their parents were involved in decisions about the appropriateness of care the child received. This form of data is described as aggregate data in that it is collected from individual people that cannot be identified individually from the data set. Often such data is derived from the records of medical professionals, tax returns or arrests and convictions. Data collection in relation to income, crime trends or other historical data is also often more effectively researched by secondary data. Hakim defines secondary data analysis as: ‘any further analysis of a survey or social dataset that presents interpretations, conclusions or knowledge additional to or different from those presented in the first report on the enquiry as a whole and its main results’ (1982: 12). The central point is that researchers do not gather the data themselves: the data were originally collected for another purpose. Cowton (1998) writing in the Journal of Business Ethics argues that criticisms of methods of data collection, such as poor questionnaire design, have prompted a number of researchers, such as Dalton and Metzger to argue that: ‘Virtually every empirical inquiry of issues relevant to applied business ethics involves the asking of questions that are sensitive, embarrassing, threatening, stigmatizing, or incriminating’ (1992: 207). One possible way forward, suggests Cowton, is not to become entangled in the difficulties relating to the collection of good primary data, but rather to use secondary data analysis.

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Durkheim on suicide One of the most influential studies in the social sciences that made use of official statistics is Emile Durkheim’s study of suicide published in 1897. Durkheim noticed that the rate of suicide in any country is fairly stable from one year to the next. If the decision to take one’s own life was a purely personal one then we would not expect to see stable rates of suicide but erratic, trendless fluctuations from one year to the next. Protestants have higher suicide rates than Catholics; single people are more likely to kill themselves than married people; older people are more likely to kill themselves than younger people, although younger people are more likely to make suicide attempts. Durkheim attempted to identify social forces that are external to the individuals and which put pressure on individuals to take their own lives. Durkheim’s definition of suicide is an interesting one: ‘the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim, which he knows will produce this result. An attempt is an act thus defined but falling short of actual death’ (1897: 44). In Durkheim’s analysis people have a need to conform, a psychological need for attachment and our ideas and actions are shaped by their relationship to the conscience collective, a set of common expectations or collective representations that come together to form the basis of a normative order within a given community. Once a conscience collective has been established, ideas about shared and acceptable ways of behaving within a community become internalised and the conscience collective exercises a constraint upon people. The conscience collective is an example of what Durkheim referred to as a social fact: one that is seen to be external to the individual and that exercises constraint. For example, social facts give guidance on ‘the right way’ to behave in any given circumstance. The decision to take one’s own life is shaped by the relationship one has with the conscience collective at the time of the decision. If a person is too integrated into the conscience collective they are at risk of committing suicide; similarly if a person is not integrated into the conscience collective they are also at risk of committing suicide. Durkheim identified four types of suicide. Egoistic suicide is a type of suicide that has its origins in excessive individualism where a person escapes the influence of the society and its moral regulation. In contrast, altruistic suicide has its origins in a person’s over-integration into the conscience collective, a person feels that it is their duty to kill themselves and examples would include suicide bombers, or a captain who went down with his ship. Thirdly, Durkheim identifies anomic suicide. For Durkheim anomie is defined as a state of ‘normlessness’ brought about because a person is either unaware of a set of norms or moral obligations or is in a position where they are faced with two competing sets of norms. In either case the end result is an increased risk of suicide. Finally, Durkheim identified fatalistic suicide in which a person is subjected to excessive regulation; he identified the suicide of slaves or prisoners as examples.

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Critics have argued that Durkheim was wrong to accept suicide statistics at face value because the statistics are a reflection of the interpretation of a sudden death by a coroner and should not be treated as a fact. Coroners have their own theories of what makes a sudden death a suicide and these theories may be arbitrary and unsupported by any evidence. Some coroners, for example, are of the opinion that if a person dies from drowning whilst swimming alone and their clothes are neatly folded this indicates a suicidal tendency. Suicide statistics, like all official statistics, contain errors and omissions. Some sudden deaths will not be suicides but may be defined by coroners as suicides and other sudden deaths may be suicides but are wrongly defined by coroners as having another cause. Durkheim was fully aware that suicide statistics are a reflection of the attitudes and beliefs of the people who compile them. As he made clear: ‘But as Wagner long ago remarked, what are called statistics of the motives of suicide are actually statistics of the opinions concerning such motives of officials, often of lower officials, in charge of this information service. Unfortunately, official establishments of the fact are known to be often defective even when applied to obvious material facts comprehensible to any conscientious observer and leaving no room for evaluation’ (1897: 148). So why did Durkheim use suicide statistics when he knew there were errors of interpretation leading to wrongful inclusion and wrongful omission? Simply stated, he had no alternative. If you were to reflect for one moment on the other methods of data collection he could have used, there is no better alternative. Could Durkheim have interviewed people who had attempted suicide and survived? People who attempt suicide but survive have a set of characteristics that people who successfully commit suicide do not share. Successful suicides tend to be people who are older, often with serious illness or disease, often in pain, often live alone and often use violent means, such as shooting or jumping off a high building where the outcome of the action has a very good chance of success. Parasuicides (people who make unsuccessful suicide attempts) are more likely to use methods that are less likely to achieve death successfully, such as drug overdose. A documentary analysis could have given Durkheim an insight into the motives of people who had committed suicide. Durkheim did draw upon the work of Brierre de Boismont (1865) who analysed the personal papers of 1507 individuals who had committed suicide to supplement his analysis. However, one issue remains. Coroners are unlikely to have had Durkheim’s definition of suicide in mind when they were defining a sudden death as a suicide. In research methods terms, coroners were using a set of indicators to define a sudden death as a suicide that does not adequately reflect how Durkheim would have operationalised the variable (suicide) if he had had the opportunity to do so.

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Crime statistics The annual crime statistics are well reported on television and in newspapers. The Home Office makes crime statistics available free of charge to anyone via its website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/ crime-research/hosb1011/. However, the statistics do not tell the whole story of the nature or extent of crime. Like all statistics there are wrongful inclusions and omissions. Many crimes go unreported for a number of reasons: people may not realise that a crime has been committed against them, such as a person hacking into another person’s broadband; a crime might be considered too trivial to be reported; a crime might be committed by a family member who you do not want to prosecute; a person may be ashamed of being a victim of a certain crime (e.g. rape), etc. The British Crime Survey (BCS) is an annual sample survey of the population that has been conducted every year for over 10 years. The BCS gives people the opportunity to give details of any crimes that have been committed by them and crimes they have been a victim of. This survey gives a picture of what is often referred to as the ‘dark figure of crime’ in that it is a more accurate reflection of the extent of crime in the UK. Topics surveyed in the BCS include: s s s s s s s s

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One of the issues that emerges from the BCS is that fear of crime is much greater than becoming a victim of crime. Details of the BCS are also available for free via the Home Office website.

Databases and data sets Databases provide an important resource for the social science researcher. They allow you to identify trends over time; assess the applicability of primary research findings; identify social factors; and add to the validity of primary data. Also secondary analysis can be enhanced when data sets are combined. There are methodological and technical issues to be addressed when combining the data sets. Are the two or more data sets

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conceptually compatible? You also have to keep in mind that the research questions used in the original study are usually different from the research questions addressed in secondary analysis, or may use different variables and/or indicators. Durkheim’s critics, for example, have pointed out that his definition of suicide may differ significantly from the definitions used by coroners when deciding the cause of a sudden death. This means that conceptually what the official statistics show may be incompatible with Durkheim’s definition. Race, for example, is often defined differently in different data sets. This means that in secondary analysis the researcher has to ensure that the variables and indicators used in the original data set fit with the definition of the variables and indicators used in the secondary analysis. If they do not this suggests that the empirical indicators in the original data set do not adequately reflect the theoretical variables used in the secondary analysis. In the last analysis, you must justify the validity and reliability of the indicators used in the original data set.

Thinkpiece It is possible to make an initial judgement about the quality of a webpage by looking at the nature of the organisation that hosts the website. The type of host can be identified by the last two or more letters of the website address. .ac.uk – in the UK this identifies that the webpages were produced on behalf of an educational institution such as a university or further education college. In the USA .edu rather than .ac.uk is used. .com – indicates that the webpages were produced on behalf of a for profit or commercial organisation. .org – indicates that the webpages were produced on behalf of a not for profit organisation. .net – is a software framework that allows the Windows operating systems to interface with the internet. .gov – indicates that the webpages were produced on behalf of a government agency or department. Question Would you be more willing to accept as valid information that originating from a university or government department than you would from a commercial provider? Give the reasons for your answer.

Categories of secondary data

Conceptual and technical instruments Cicourel (1964) looked at crime statistics and Douglas (1967) looked at suicide statistics and both concluded that official statistics were of limited value to the social scientist because while they appeared to be factual in nature they were, in reality, based upon the subjective understanding or commonsense theories of the people who compiled them. Hindess (1973) investigates the way in which information is collated and aggregated into official statistics in order to evaluate the claim that official statistics are of limited value for social science research. Hindess also looked at the instruments used in the production of official statistics. He identified two set of instruments used in their production: conceptual instruments, which were the way in which the issue was defined by the official who collated the material, and the technical instruments, which were the methods used for the collection and compilation of the statistics. For a death to be classed as a suicide or for an action to be defined as a crime the coroner or police officer has to follow policies and procedures that are not necessarily based upon their own personal opinion or belief. These policies and procedures can be identified as the rules by which information is classified as belonging to one category rather than another. This process can be described and evaluated, and a judgement made as to the reliability and ability of the policies and procedures to generate valid data. The more effective the categories are at reflecting real world events, the more valid and reliable the statistics produced. In addition to compatibility of variables and indicators, there is a number of other issues that researchers need to take into account when using secondary data: how was the date collected, is the context of the research known, was the data collected ethically, is the sampling procedure known?

Categories of secondary data The development of the internet has revolutionised access to secondary data giving researchers a time advantage when having to meet deadlines. Researchers have numerous secondary databases available for use in their research projects.

Governmental and regulatory bodies A good starting point for the UK researcher who wants to use official statistics within their research project is to look at Social Trends. This is an excellent reference source that brings together data from government departments and other organisations. It is divided into 13 chapters: crime and justice, education and training, environment, expenditure, health, households and families, housing, labour market trends, income and wealth, lifestyles and social participation, population trends, social protection, and

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transport. The government provides researchers with free access to the past 10 years of Social Trends and issues can be accessed via www.ons.gov.uk. The main advantage of using secondary data is cost. In the UK the Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects a huge amount of data that is readily available via its website to researchers, usually at no cost. ONS conducts over 100 business and household surveys in an effort to produce information to improve people’s understanding of the economy and society in the UK. All that the ONS asks is that any data are referenced and the source acknowledged so you should visit the ONS website http://www.ons.gov.uk and explore the wealth of data available. ONS data include data derived from the decennial national Census and data from sample survey research, such as the following: 1. Integrated Household Survey (IHS) is a composite household survey combining the answers from a number of household surveys conducted by the ONS, including the Living Cost and Food Survey (LCF), the English Housing Survey (EHS), the Annual Population Survey (APS), the Life Opportunities Survey (LOS) and the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) (formerly the General Household Survey). 2. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a quarterly survey of 60,000 households in Great Britain selected by a systematic random sample. The purpose of the survey is to provide information about the labour market in the UK to identify trends in the labour market and evaluate labour market policies. The sample population for the LFS is resident UK citizens aged 16 and over. The sampling frame for the LFS is provided by the Post Office and is a list of all addresses in the UK receiving less than 25 articles of mail a day; a sample of people in hospital is also conducted from NHS hospital records. The data are collected by a series of structured interviews conducted in five phases. Every 3 months approximately 12,000 individuals aged 16 or over are selected at random and they are interviewed on behalf of all adults in the household. The same people are interviewed in 5 successive 3-month periods; after the fifth interview that group of 12,000 households drop out of the sample and are replaced by a new sample of 12,000. Respondents are initially interviewed in person when first included in the sample but in the later phases of the survey they are interviewed by telephone. There is a whole range of other Labour Market Statistics also available to the researcher. 3. The Family Expenditure Survey (FES) was a survey of household income and expenditure on goods and services, conducted by random sampling all households in the UK. The survey was initially designed to provide information on spending patterns for the Retail Price Index. Every person aged 16 or over in the sample was asked to keep a diary of their daily expenditure for two weeks. Information was also collected on rent and mortgage payments and other large items of expenditure. In the last year it was conducted (2000–01) 6637 households were included in the sample. In April 2001 the FES was replaced by the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS). 4. With the EFS household expenditure is coded on the basis of a set of codes known as the European standard Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) – see Figure 4.1.

Categories of secondary data

01 - FOOD AND NON-ALOCHOLIC BEVERAGES 01.1 - Food 01.2 - Non-alcoholic beverages 02 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND TOBACCO 02.1 - Alcoholic beverages 02.2 - Tobacco 03 - CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 03.1 - Clothing 03.2 - Footwear 04 - HOUSING, WATER, GAS, ELECTRICITY AND OTHER FUELS 04.1 - Actual rentals for housing 04.3 - Regular maintenance and repair of the dwelling 04.4 - Other services relating to the dwelling 04.5 - Electricity, gas and other fuels 05 - FURNISHINGS, HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OFTHE HOUSE 05.1 - Furniture, furnishings and decorations, carpets and floor coverings and repairs 05.2 - Household textiles 05.3 - Household appliances 05.4 - Glassware, tableware and household utensils 05.5 - Tools and equipment for house and garden 05.6 - Goods and services for routine household maintenance 06 - HEALTH 06.1 - Medical products, appliances and equipment 06.2 - Outpatient services 06.3 - Hospital services 07 - TRANSPORT 07.1 - Purchase of vehicles 07.2 - Operation of personal transport equipment 07.3 - Transport services 08 - COMMUNICATIONS 08.1 - Postal services 08.2/3 - Telephone and telefax equipment and services 09 - RECREATION AND CULTURE 09.1 - Audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment 09.2 - Other major durables for recreation and culture 09.3 - Other recreational items and equipment, gardens and pets 09.4 - Recreational and cultural services 09.5 - Newspapers, books and stationery 09.6 - Package holidays 10 - EDUCATION 11 - RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS 11.1 - Catering services 11.2 - Accommodation services 12 - MISCELLANEOUS GOODS AND SERVICES 12.1 - Personal care 12.2 - Personal effects 12.3 - Social protection 12.4 - Insurance 12.5 - Financial services 12.6 - Other services

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Chapter 4 Secondary analysis – research using other people’s data

The census In England and Wales the census is designed and conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Simply explained, the census is a count of the population and the identification of key characteristics such as age, gender, race, marital status and religion. The data are collected by the use of a postal questionnaire. In the UK there has been a census every 10 years since 1801. Completing the census questionnaire and returning it by the due date is compulsory and people who fail to complete and return the questionnaire can be fined £1000. All the questions on the questionnaire are compulsory except the question on religion. The answers people give are turned into statistics. Personal census information is only released to the Public Records Office for social and historical research after 100 years. The information is used by central government and local authorities to plan public services.

Data archives The United Kingdom Data Archive contains several thousand databases of information that are of interest to social science researchers. The archive is based at the University of Essex and its website is www.data-archive.ac.uk/home. The archive was opened in 1967 with the support of the then Social Science Research Council and the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) has continued this support. Although there are several thousand databases within the archive that researchers can access via the internet some of the most well used include: s 4HE %CONOMIC AND 3OCIAL $ATA 3ERVICE %3$3  THIS NATIONAL DATA SERVICE ALLOWS access to a wide range of important quantitative and qualitative social and economic data that are of interest to researchers across the social sciences. s $ATAFROMTHEDECENNIAL#ENSUSOF0OPULATIONINCLUDINGTHESUBSETSOFSMALLAREA statistics can be found at census.ac.uk. Via the archive researchers can access the ESRC Census Programme, which provides access to data from the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 UK censuses for researchers in UK higher and further education. s 4HE (ISTORY $ATA 3ERVICE ($3 PROVIDES A RANGE OF DIGITAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT historical research. s 4HE3URVEY2ESOURCES.ETWORK32. GIVESTHERESEARCHERACCESSTOA1UESTION"ANK from the mid-1990s onwards. s 3INCE  THE ARCHIVE HAS ALSO HOSTED THE 3ECURE $ATA 3ERVICE AN INITIATIVE SUPported by the ESRC to give researchers safe, secure and free access to sensitive or confidential data whilst at the same time protecting the privacy of individuals and organisations. Another online archive that is of great value to the social researcher is the Manchester Information and Associated Services (MIMAS), based at the University of Manchester. Via its website (http://mimas.ac.uk) researchers can access data from the Census Dissemination Unit (CDU) that includes free access and support to the UK Census Aggregate

Categories of secondary data

Statistics. MIMAS also holds the Archives Hub, which allows researchers to search across a large quantity of archives held at nearly 200 institutions across the UK. Also at the University of Manchester is the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR) (http://www.ccsr.ac.uk). This large archive contains the Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs) database. The database is composed of samples of individual records from the 1991 and 2001 Censuses. The SARs contain a record for each individual, with the identifying information removed to protect confidentiality. The SARs data sets allow the researcher to conduct an analysis of small sub-groups at national or local levels over the full range of Census categories such as housing, education, health, transport, employment, ethnicity and religion. In addition to the Census and data archive surveys, published legal judgments are also an important source of insight into many issues and decisions by bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and are also potentially useful for research purposes. The ASA surveys the media to check the compliance rate and identify any potential problems. Their research is more often than not focused on areas of advertising that have a history of problems. Researchers can download the ASA’s research reports from its website: www.asa.org.uk/Resource-Centre/Reports-and-surveys.aspx.

British Social Attitudes Survey The British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) is a sample survey of 3600 randomly selected respondents aged 18 or over. The survey has been conducted every year since 1983 by the National Centre for Social Research. The survey collects information about people’s attitudes and opinions on a wide range of economic, financial, social, political and ethical issues, such as public expenditure, fear of crime, childcare and other areas of PUBLICPOLICY1UESTIONSAREALSOASKEDABOUTACTIVITIESSUCHASNEWSPAPERREADERSHIP political affiliation, religion, charitable giving, participation in the labour market and educational attainment. The results are published as a book. The main sponsor for the survey is the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, which is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.

The press Newspapers, the internet and television are useful sources of data. Newspapers and television often commission opinion polls that are a valuable resource for the researcher. Newspaper articles can be a used as source of ‘facts’ about something to which the researcher may have no direct access or, newspaper articles and television news can be treated as a researchable resource.

Published academic research One method is simply to reanalyse the data that other researchers have collected and published. Meta-analysis is form of re-analysis that involves drawing data from several

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research projects that investigated the same research questions and pooling the results drawn from the studies. One of the most famous longitudinal studies that researchers have drawn upon over the years to very good effect is the National Child Development Study (NCDS).

The National Child Development Study (NCDS) 1946 The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing longitudinal study that has followed more than 5000 people born in the first week of March 1946 from BIRTH INTO ADULTHOOD 4HE INITIAL DIRECTOR OF THE RESEARCH *7" $OUGLAS ORIGINALLY wanted to survey all 15,000 children born that week but financial constraints meant that he needed to take a sample of 5362 children, with a 50 per cent split between manual and non-manual family backgrounds. Over the course of the research the researchers have remained in contact with 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the initial sample, often with only an intermittent loss of contact. Complete data exist for 70 per cent of the initial sample. In the first survey there was a detailed description of maternity services and child-rearing. Information has been collected by questionnaire, interview, school records and teacher’s assessments to get an understanding of adolescence, parental involvement in education, and the impact of home background on educational attainment. Later phases of the study include data on family relationships, religious beliefs, employment, housing, leisure and membership of organisations. The aim of the study is to provide a better understanding of human development over the lifespan of a person. There have been eight surveys of all members of the birth cohort. The first three surveys were conducted by the National Children’s Bureau in 1965, 1969 and 1974. In 1985 the study was transferred to the then Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU), now the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), the fifth survey was conducted in 1991, the sixth in 1999–2000, the seventh in 2004 and the final survey in 2008–09. Data from the NCDS is hosted by the Economic and Social Data Service and is available for use by researchers by accessing www.esds.ac.uk/findingData/ncdsTitles.asp.

National Child Development Study (1958) Wedge and Prosser conducted a similar longitudinal research project for the National Children’s Bureau in which they surveyed all the children born between 3 and 9 March 1958 and followed them through their school careers. They produced a book called Born to Fail (1973) in which they attempted to identify the factors associated with educational underachievement from the data collected, starting in 1958 and ending in 1969. However, as the cohort of 18,559 children aged and became adults the data set has been used by researchers to test a range of interesting hypotheses. *AMES 3ARGENT AND $AVID "LANCHmOWER  FOR EXAMPLE USED THE DATA SET TO identify if there was a link between obesity and hourly earnings amongst people of 23 years of age. From the data collected from the 12,537 respondents who could be traced, they found no relationship between obesity and earnings for males. For females however there was a statistically significant inverse relation between obesity and earnings

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary analysis

independent of parental social class and ability test scores conducted when the cohort were children. The Economic and Social Data Service also provides a list of and links to all the research projects that make use of the National Child Development data set for research purposes, this can be found at www.esds.ac.uk/longitudinal/access/ncds/usage.asp.

Historical data This form of research can involve data collection from either primary or secondary sources in an effort to find information that allows the researcher to draw a more accurate inference about the issues they are investigating. The representation of the past can be drawn from published and unpublished documents, records, biographies, asking people about their personal observations and experiences. Many people conduct historical research as an end in itself, but it is also of value to researchers who are investigating contemporary issues. Historical data gives the researcher an understanding of trends, an indication of social change in the area, an indication of relevant variables that have an impact on the issue to be investigated, suggests something about how current practice in the area evolved and gives an indication of how other researchers have explored the issue under investigation in the past. The History Data Service (HDS) brings together and maintains a national historical archive of social and economic historical data produced by academic historians and distributes this information in digital form. Since 2008 the HDS has been hosted by the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex. HDS also provides online advice to researchers on how to make more effective use of historical data in their research. Access to the data is free to students but to make use of the archive students have to register via the website: http://hds.essex.ac.uk/history/about/introduction.asp.

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary analysis In addition to the pragmatic reasons for using secondary data, such as the time advantage it gives to the researcher, Hakim has suggested that when the researcher relies on secondary data rather than collecting their own data this can benefit the development of theory: ‘One advantage of secondary analysis is that it forces the researcher to think more closely about the theoretical aims and substantive issues of the study rather than the practical and methodological problems of collecting new data. The time and effort involved in obtaining funds for and organising a new survey can be devoted instead to the analysis and interpretation of results’ (1982:16).

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Smith (2009) has identified the benefits and the principal objections to the use of secondary data analysis in social research. On the benefits side she makes the following points: s 5SINGSECONDARYDATAPROVIDESTHERESEARCHERWITHACCESSTODATAONASCALETHATTHEY could not collect themselves, it allows researchers who do not have the technical skills to conduct surveys with high-quality, valid and reliable data sets; secondary data can be analysed and replicated from different perspectives and as such provides opportunities for the discovery of relationships not previously considered. s 3ECONDARY DATA IS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED MEANING THAT IT IS A PRODUCT OF DElNITION and negotiation between the people and organisations that collect it. Transforming this data into a numeric form does not reflect its complexity and there is a loss of information as a consequence. s 3ECONDARYDATAISFULLOFERRORS FOREXAMPLE@!CCORDINGTOTHE0,!3#;0UPIL,EVEL Annual School Census] 2005, 6479 pupils were permanently excluded from school in 2003/04. This is far fewer than the 9880 reported by the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in their Statistical First Release (DfES 2005). The reasons for such discrepancies in the data are not entirely clear’ (Smith 2009: 91). s 3ECONDARYDATAFROMOFlCIALGOVERNMENTSOURCESINPARTICULAR ISNOTVALUENEUTRAL but reflects the interests of those in power. s 3ECONDARYDATAANALYSISOFTENINVOLVESTHEANALYSISOFDATATHATHASBEENCOLLECTED with a very different purpose in mind.

Thinkpiece ‘The argument that this data is socially constructed and can therefore serve no real purpose in helping understand the social world is simply untenable. Secondary data can provide a window to the social world, it can help identify trends and inequities which further enquiry, often using in-depth research methods, can explore’ (Smith 2009: 99). ‘Surely it is difficult to argue that researchers studying the challenges facing pupils who are permanently excluded from school would not benefit from understanding which young people are being excluded from which types of schools and over which particular periods of time? Secondary data analysis can tell us about what is happening in society about which inequalities persist, however, it cannot tell us why these inequalities exist – that requires in-depth approaches to which secondary data analysis is the ideal complement’ (Smith 2009: 100). Write a summary of what you think are Smith’s main points in these two passages. Do you accept or reject her arguments? Give reasons for your answer.

Conclusion

Conclusion Official statistics have huge practical advantages for the social scientist; they are high in both validity and reliability, for example birth rates. However, some official statistics, notably unemployment statistics, suicide statistics and crime statistics, have attracted criticism on the grounds that they are less valid. The government has changed how it defines a person as unemployed several times, some sudden deaths are wrongly recorded and the police do not always record crimes. Government statistics are easy to access saving the researcher both time and money and are often recorded in standardised categories, at regular intervals, allowing the researcher to identify trends in the data.

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Secondary sources of data Over the course of her research methods module, Erica has discovered how useful the National Statistics Office webpages can be when searching for secondary data. When she looked she found that Social Trends, for example, contains a great deal of information about zoos as a visitor attraction and how many people visit zoos over a given time period. Although Social Trends does not contain information that is directly relevant to the research project, there is however a range of other reliable sources, such as inspection reports, that contains multiple data sets and makes use of both mixed qualitative and quantitative data that are relevant to the question. Relevant organisations that produce reports that may contain useful information include: s s s s s s s

:OOS)NSPECTORATE 7ILDLIFE)NSPECTORATE 230#!)NSPECTORATE 3TATE6ETERINARY3ERVICE 2#632IDING%STABLISHMENTS)NSPECTORATE /FlCEFOR3TANDARDSIN%DUCATION)NSPECTORATE/FSTED (ER-AJESTYS0LANNING)NSPECTORATE

You may not want to use these reports as the basis for your research because there is an assumption that research projects involve the researcher collecting their own original data. However Erica may still want to make use of secondary data as part of her literature review. As said in the chapter, secondary analysis allows her to place arguments from books and papers drawn from different time periods together allowing her to make an informed judgement about the contemporary relevance of research cited.

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Bibliography !NGST $" AND $EATRICK *!  @)NVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE DECISIONS PARENTS and children with chronic illness’, Journal of Family Nursing, 2(2): 174–95. Boismont, A.B.D. (1865) Du suicide et de la folie suicide, Paris: Librairie Germer-Baillière. Cicourel, A.V. (1964) Method and Measurement in Sociology, New York: Wiley. Cowton, C. (1998) ‘The Use of Secondary Data in Business Ethics Research’, Journal of Business Ethics, 17: 423–34. Dalton, D.R. and M.B. Metzger (1992) ‘Towards Candor, Cooperation, and Privacy in Applied Business Ethics Research: The Randomized Response Technique (RRT)’, Business Ethics Quarterly, 2(2): 207–21. $OUGLAS * The Meanings We Give to Suicide 0RINCETON.*0RINCETON5NIVERSITY Press. Durkheim, E. (1897) Suicide: A Study in Sociology TRANSLATED BY *OHN 3PAULDING AND George Simpson, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Hakim, C. (1982) Secondary Analysis in Social Research: A guide to data sources and methods with examples, London: George Allen and Unwin. (EATON * @3ECONDARYANALYSISOFQUALITATIVEDATA Social Research Update, 22. Hindess, B. (1973) The Use of Official Statistics in Sociology: A critique of positivism and ethnomethodology, Basingstoke: Macmillan. (INDS 03 6OGEL 2*AND#LARKE 3TEFFEN , @4HEPOSSIBILITIESANDPITFALLSOF doing a secondary analysis of a qualitative data set’, Qualitative Health Research, 7(3): 408–24. 3ARGENT * AND "LANCHmOWER $  @/BESITY AND 3TATURE IN !DOLESCENCE AND Earnings in Young Adulthood: Analysis of a British Birth Cohort’, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 148: 681–87. Smith, E. (2009) ‘What can secondary data analysis tell us about school exclusions in England?’, International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 32(1): 89–101. Szabo, V. and Strang, V.R. (1997) ‘Secondary analysis of qualitative data’, Advances in Nursing Science, 20(2): 66–74. Wedge, P. and Prosser, H. (1973) Born to Fail?, London: Arrow Books/National Children’s Bureau.

5 Interviews

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Introduction The interview is one of the most popular methods of data collection in the social sciences. Simply expressed, this is because in everyday life one of the most common ways of getting people to give us information is to ask them for it. Interestingly, interviews are also used for data collection in a wide range of other situations far beyond data collection for research projects: for example television interviews, police interviews, job interviews, therapeutic interviews with doctors, nurses and counsellors etc., market research interviews, the PhD viva, and so on. Clearly, for a diverse range of people and organisations in a wide range of situations interviews are seen as a valid and reliable method of collecting information from people. The assumption appears to be that in a face-to-face encounter people are more willing to provide detailed information about themselves when asked: conversation is an essential aspect of human behaviour. You might want to reflect for a moment on how effective the interview is in terms of selecting an employee, or in collecting evidence to solve a crime. In terms of data collection for research projects in the social sciences there are a number of different types of interview that can be placed on a continuum from a very formal structured interview, in which the researcher reads from a list of questions in the same order, using the same words and the same tone of voice to each respondent, to a very unstructured, informal or in-depth interview where the researcher has a list of issues or concerns that

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they want to discuss with the respondent and the interview process takes the form of a guided conversation. There are a range of other types of semi-structured interview between the structured and unstructured interview. With the semi-structured interview the researcher has a list of formal questions they want to ask the respondent but other issues, concerns or questions might arise over the course of the interview. This chapter will outline and evaluate the different types of interview, explain how to compile the interview schedule or interview guide, and how to conduct the data analysis. The chapter also contains a discussion of online interviews and group interviews/focus groups; the problem of poor response rate; the reluctance of respondents to provide full and truthful answers; and a discussion of prompting and probing.

Issues to be aware of The interview is a form of conversation, usually involving two people, initiated by the researcher for the purpose of collecting data that can be used to support the aims of a research project. Respondents are encouraged to talk about the issues that are raised by the researcher. However, in everyday life sometimes when two people meet for the first time, one individual may take a dislike to the other and this dislike will shape the conversation that they have. This issue of mutual dislike can also affect research interviews, so although interviewing is a very popular method of data collection one common failing identified with the interview is the potential for researcher bias. Cicourel (1964) identifies several issues that need to be addressed when conducting an interview: 1. The respondent may feel uneasy about aspects of the questions asked and avoid certain issues altogether or avoid giving full answers. 2. Communication may break down because the meaning and significance of what is been said is not shared. 3. The respondent may choose to withhold information, such as personal information from the researcher. Everyday life is constrained and in our everyday conversations we do not always give full and frank responses to the questions we are asked. Clearly then because the process of interviewing is based upon the conversation, it is not immune from the strategies and deceptions that affect our conversations in everyday life. In the interview, respondents provide us with information about themselves, but this information is rarely a collection of facts. The information gathered from interviews often takes the form of spontaneous personal narratives based upon the respondent’s personal opinion, observations and assumptions about the world. Surprisingly, interviews conducted with the same group of respondents, drawn from the same group of people in the population, about the same issues, are often very different in quality and content. This may be because of differing levels of trust, social

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distance or other factors that are outside the control of the researcher. Maintaining politeness, for example, often results in people telling lies. I have eaten some awful food at dinner parties but to avoid upsetting the host when I am asked if I enjoyed the meal I will always reply ‘yes’. And I pretend to be sincere! Similarly, in an intimate relationship we may lie to a partner to protect them in some way.

Probing and prompting All researchers aim to produce valid and reliable research findings but in order to do this we need our respondents to give us full and frank answers to our questions. If respondents do not provide us with full and frank responses we do not have a complete picture of the issues we are investigating and the validity of our findings is damaged. Fielding (1993) has identified four possible reasons as to why people do not always give full and frank responses to interview questions. 1. Rationalisation – respondents have a tendency to give rational reasons for their actions, withholding reasons that are more emotional or petty. 2. Lack of awareness – some people may find it difficult to find the appropriate words to express their thoughts or may not have the information that a full response to the question requires. 3. Fear of being shown up – all people have a preferred self-image and if a full and frank response to a question could potentially damage that preferred self-image the respondent may decide not to give a full account. 4. Overpoliteness – some respondents may be flattered by their inclusion in a sample and may feel that it is rude to give an answer that they feel the researcher is not looking for. Prompting and probing are two of the most popular techniques used to overcome these problems. Prompting is simply encouraging the respondent to give a fuller answer to a question. This can be done by repeating, rephrasing the question or simply asking the respondent to say more about some aspect of their response. Indirect questioning is also useful when dealing with sensitive questions. If you were to ask a person ‘Are you a racist?’ they are unlikely to answer ‘yes’ and go on to give a full account of the role that racism plays in their life. However, if you were to ask an indirect question such as ‘Why do you think other people are racist?’ a respondent is more likely to give a frank answer. The respondent can give their account of a racist’s motivation whilst pretending to speak on behalf of another person. Probing can be either verbal or non-verbal, such as nodding your head whilst the respondent is speaking; taking a word from the response and repeating it back to the respondent in an effort to encourage more comment on the word selected; making noises such as um or ahh; using silence at the end of a response to encourage the respondent to say more; completing a person’s sentence; or using pictures or other visual clues to assist the respondent.

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Interviewer bias Interviewer bias is one of the most common threats to the validity of research projects that use interviews as their main method of data collection. This bias can come from a number of sources: s THEQUESTIONSTHEMSELVESCANBELEADING s THERESEARCHERMISREADSTHERESPONSEANDIMPOSESAMEANINGONTHERESPONSETHAT the respondent did not intend; s MISDIRECTEDPROBINGANDPROMPTINGnGETTINGTHERESPONDENTTOSAYSOMETHINGTHAT is not a true reflection of their stance; s AT THE WRITING UP STAGE RE DRAFTING THE transcript (verbatim account of what the respondent said) or only selecting those parts of the transcript that support the researcher’s argument.

Structured and unstructured interviews Kvale and Brinkmann (2008) outline two very different conceptions of the interview process which are described as the data-mining concept of the interview and the traveller approach to interviewing. With the miner metaphor, the objective information or meanings are assumed to be a buried resource in the mind of the respondent and the interviewer is a miner who digs for nuggets of knowledge out of a respondent’s pure experiences to unearth this valuable resource. This is the most common approach to interviewing and views the interview solely as a method of data collection. As researchers we ask interviewees to provide reports or a description of a feeling, state, attitude, belief or event that they have witnessed in the world and then the researcher has to fit the responses into coding categories or themes. Selected sections of the interviewee’s answers are quoted in the research report as data. Any form of subjectivity from the researcher should be eliminated as this damages both the validity and the reliability of the data. In contrast, the traveller metaphor is based upon the original Latin meaning of conversation as ‘wandering together with’, in which we ask questions and encourage our respondents to tell their own life stories and explore their taken-for-granted values and customs in order to gain a fuller understanding of the meaning of the respondent’s life. In this approach the emphasis is on interpretation. The interviewe process is like a traveller on a journey to a distant country who wanders across the unknown terrain without maps and the journey leads to the discovery of stories that can be retold upon returning home. The traveller approach places a great deal of emphasis on interpretation and understanding of the interviewee’s stance. Interviews help researchers to understand more fully a respondent’s own perspective.

How to conduct the interview

How to conduct the interview If you decide that the interview is the method of data collection you want to use for your research project there are a number of important phases that you need to fulfil before data collection can begin. First you need to think about the purpose of the research project, what questions you want to explore, and what your aims and objectives are. If you are interested in finding out factual information from your respondents that is not intrusive, not highly personal or sensitive you might consider asking closed questions. A closed question is one in which respondents are asked to choose from a limited range of responses that you provide for them to choose from. With this approach the respondent is given a question and is asked to choose from a limited range of answers provided by the researcher. Closed questions can include questions about age, race, gender and income, for example: s !REYOUMALEORFEMALE s (OWOLDAREYOUnnnETC s (OWMUCHDOYOUEARNPERYEARa n  n  n  60,000+ One problem here is that although you may not believe the above questions are sensitive, the respondents may think otherwise.

Thinkpiece Why do you think some respondents may be sensitive about their income or indeed lie about the true amount? If you have already compiled a questionnaire then try and identify the most controversial questions.

Alternatively, if you are interested in gathering data about what people think and feel about a given issue, or what meaning people attach to a given issue, or you are generally unsure about how people are going to respond then you will have to ask open questions. An open question is where respondents are not given a set of responses to choose from but can answer the question however they wish. The advantage of a closed question is that by providing the respondent with a question and a choice of response, the data have already been categorised before being collected. Once the respondents have answered all the questions the researcher simply counts the responses given in order to generate the findings. The closed question format assumes that the researcher is so familiar with the area under investigation that all the possible responses from the respondents can be anticipated. If respondents want to answer a question with a response that the researcher has not anticipated there will be no response provided by the researcher for the respondent to choose. If the respondent is unable to choose an appropriate answer from the range of responses this will damage

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the validity of the findings. Many researchers attempt to overcome this problem by providing an open category or ‘other’ response category that the respondent can choose, usually with the opportunity for the respondent to explain more fully their response in their own words. It is perfectly reasonable for an interview schedule to contain a number of closed and open questions. As a researcher you need to give some thought to both the question format and the response format: s !RETHEQUESTIONSGOINGTOBEOPENQUESTIONS CLOSEDQUESTIONSORACOMBINATIONOF both? s (OWDOYOUWANTPEOPLETORESPONDTOTHEQUESTIONSYOUASK s $OYOUWANTRESPONDENTSTOGIVEASIMPLEYESORNORESPONSEOR s $O YOU WANT PEOPLE TO GIVE FULLER RESPONSES THAT ALLOW YOU TO EXPLORE THE respondents’ feelings? The closed question response may be simple, but it is not simplistic. Closed questions can be used to collect data on people’s attitudes, beliefs, opinions, fears, aspirations and much more. Even very sensitive questions can be asked with the inventive use of a closed question format. As researchers we can provide a respondent with a closed question that takes the form of a statement and ask the respondent to choose an appropriate response from a scale of possible responses.

Example Question 1 Please read the following statement and tick the response that most closely reflects your own view: ‘The British government should give priority to reducing unemployment over concerns about the environment.’ Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Question 2 Please read the following question and tick the response that most closely reflects your own view: When travelling on public transport how would you feel if a young man of Asian heritage, wearing a beard, traditional clothes and carrying a backpack sat next to you. Would you be? Very concerned for your personal safety Fearful Neither concerned nor unconcerned Not fearful Not at all concerned for your personal safety

Coding and data analysis: structured interviews

Where do the questions come from on an interview schedule? The questions asked by a researcher should emerge from the aims and objectives of the research project. The responses to the questions asked should provide the researcher with the information necessary to achieve fully the aims of the research project. Some of the questions asked in an interview are based upon our personal knowledge of the field. Ideally your questions should reflect key issues that are discussed by academics within the field. In other words, your review of the literature in the area should suggest important issues that need to be addressed in the questions asked. Your research project will need to contain a methodological justification. This justification should be more than simply a list of advantages and disadvantages of the choice of method used, but if the word limit for your project allows, should also contain a justification for each question asked. Ideally you should be in a position to justify each question asked by being able to point to relevant research in the area. Many of the variables we use in the social sciences are very abstract and are only found at a conceptual level. Variables need to be operationalised: this means that we need to find an appropriate indicator that demonstrates how the variable impacts on the field that we are investigating. If we take poverty as our variable we need to identify one or more indicators of poverty. Each indicator should be clear and unambiguous as a measure of poverty. You might want to reflect for a moment on suitable indicators that you could use to measure poverty. Educational researchers often use a child’s receipt of free school meals as an indicator of poverty, as the child’s family has to meet a range of criteria in relation to low income in order to claim free school meals. In summary, as a researcher you need to have a clear set of questions contained within your interview schedule that reflect the aims of the research project and the relevant major issues in the published research within the field. Questions need to reflect the variables or central theories and concepts in the area and each variable needs to be operationalised by the use of appropriate indicators that are found within each question asked.

Coding and data analysis: structured interviews Analysis and interpretation are the processes of making sense of our collected data. Analysis essentially means taking apart the responses to our questions in order to reconstruct them in a way that allows us to create a meaningful explanation of why events unfold in the way they do. This involves drawing an inference or arriving at a conclusion that is a defensible explanation of why people responded to our questions in the way they did. The way in which we analyse data is very different for open questions than it is for closed questions. With the structured interview, especially where a significant number of closed questions have been asked, the researcher conducts the data analysis once the

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data collection is complete. In contrast with in-depth interviews the data analysis and data collection can take place at the same time. As we have seen, with the closed question format respondents are given the question and a choice of answers and they are expected to choose the response that comes closest to their own personal response. The great advantage of the closed question format is that because the potential responses we give respondents are already organised into categories that reflect the aims of the research project and key issues in the area, data analysis is much simpler than with the open question format. In order to collect a valid set of responses from respondents, the interviewer attempts to achieve ‘equivalence of stimuli’. This means that we ask the same questions, using the same words, in the same order, with the same tone of voice to each respondent. This allows the researcher to claim that any differences between respondents’ answers to the questions is due solely to the respondents’ differing opinions, attitudes or beliefs and is not a product of interviewer bias. With data from closed questions most researchers identify the central tendency from the responses given for each question. The central tendency is simply the most popular response given by the sample of respondents, or the average response given by respondents. The average is usually calculated by calculating the mean response. The mean is simply the average of the numbers and we calculate the mean by adding up all the numbers and then dividing the total figure by the number of numbers we counted. For example: 7 + 12 + 8 = 27 27 divided by 3 = 9 You will find out more about the mean and other statistical measures in Chapter 8. Once the researcher has identified the central tendency in the array of data the task is to explain why people responded in the way that they did. As with all data analysis explanation building is a creative process. However, two of the most common forms of analysis and interpretation that are ideal for explanation building from interview data are correspondence and pattern matching (see Chapter 6).

In-depth interviews The in-depth interview can be viewed as an extended conversation for the purpose of data collection. If the researcher is skilled at conversation the approach can be effective in gaining an insight into feeling states, attitudes and beliefs that are often hidden. With the in-depth interview the researcher has an interview guide rather than an interview schedule. The interview guide may contain some specific questions that have emerged from the reading of the relevant literature in the area, but it will also contain puzzlements. Puzzlements are ideas or unclear perceptions that the researcher has about

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the area of investigation. They may not take the form of clearly worded questions but it is hoped that the interviewee’s subjective experience of the field can shed light on the issues we are unclear about. Puzzlements can be very useful in exploratory interviews when the researcher is still at the stage of working out the aims and objectives of the research project and developing an understanding of the field. When in-depth interviews are used as the primary method of data collection, they tend not to be standardised. Respondents are asked new or supplementary questions to highlight or more fully explore points they have made in previous answers. Puzzlements can emerge during the interview itself and as such the interviewer often has to decide which ideas or points they want to pursue more fully with the respondent whilst the interview is in progress. The in-depth interview is regarded as a useful research method to use when the subject matter is very personal, sensitive or complicated. In their analysis of Latino marriages Harris et al. asked the following open ended questions of their respondents: ‘How would you describe a strong marriage?’, ‘What is essential for a strong marriage?’, ‘How did you learn about what it takes to have a strong marriage?’, and ‘What would be the most helpful in supporting Latino couples to have a strong MARRIAGE  In the in-depth interview the researcher needs to develop a rapport with respondents and as a consequence the researcher is never passive. If there is any doubt or uncertainty about a response the researcher simply asks another question but never just lets an unclear answer remain unchallenged.

Data analysis As you can imagine the task of analysing this data is far more time consuming than finding the central tendency from responses to closed questions. As Harris et al. explain their data analysis involved the following: ‘the researchers first became immersed in the interview data by independently READINGALLTHERESPONSESTHATINCLUDEDAPPROXIMATELYPAGESOFSINGLE SPACED transcript. From this reading the themes of friendship, trust, and love were identified. With the existing research about European and Latino marriage and family life IN MIND THE RESEARCHERS INDEPENDENTLY LOOKED FOR HOW THESE  COUPLES TALKED about friendship, trust, and love and the role they played in their Latino marriages’ n  The categories of friendship, trust and love are said to have emerged from the data. In other words, they are the ideas or organising principles that the respondents used when they talked about a strong marriage. Why the respondents talk about marriage in this way requires us to build an explanation. Like all good researchers Harris et al. draw upon other research in the first instance to see if there is an existing explanation for why people have responded in the way that they have. If no adequate explanation can be found in the literature then as researchers we have to construct our own account

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of why respondents think and act in the way that they do. This explanation building process may be subjective in nature but if our explanation appears to explain why respondents think and act in the way that they do then it is an appropriate inference.

Using open questions Crain (2001) in her study of religious educators also used open questions and gives a very full account of how she does this: ‘I begin each interview by telling about my interest in how people come to faith, how they think about God and how their lives have brought them to this point. I often say, “I experience you as a faithful person, one who is trying to live in a way that will be pleasing to God. I see you coming to this church. Tell me about your life so that I will understand why you are here.” I also let the person know that I have time to really listen. I might say, “We have an hour or so. I want to hear your story.” I use a small tape recorder. I tell the person, “The tape will be transcribed by my secretary and then I’ll send the transcript to you. You may then take out anything that you want to.” Several times, in the midst of an interview, the interviewee has asked me to turn off the tape when he or she told me something off the record. I have always honored that request very faithfully. Having made these clarifications, I sit back and wait. I let the person begin wherever he or she wishes. I watch and listen and respond with “Uh huh” and “Really?” and “Mmmn” quite often. I try to be an active listener, telling the person that I am interested, but not providing comments or categories. I want to let the person shape the story because those choices tell me a lot about what is most important and how the person thinks. I want to let the interviewee choose categories and language for the story. If I talk very much, I will inadvertently supply vocabulary and emphases which are mine, rather than belonging to the intensely personal epistemology of the interviewee’ (2001: 391).

To summarise, Crain gives clear instructions to the respondent, such as tell me your life story in one hour. However, the respondent is free to answer the question in whatever manner they wish, although they may be prompted to give fuller responses by Crain using words such as ‘Uh huh’ and ‘Really?’ and ‘Mmmn’. Themes or categories emerge from the respondents themselves and as more people are interviewed the themes are more clearly defined or new themes or categories emerge as comparison is made between different groups of respondents. The data are collected with the use of a tape recorder and later transcribed. It is important to note that in similar research projects a respondent’s transcribed story may not be a word-for-word account. The life story may be restoried by a researcher: this means that some researchers will change aspects of the verbatim account to make it grammatically correct.

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Content analysis Once a transcript had been produced Crain’s data analysis took the form of a content analysis, as she explains: ‘Analysis requires another whole set of skills. We have developed a method using six different colors of highlighting pens, making finding certain passages easier. For instance, pink has been used for statements that clearly point to a developmental stage. Blue highlights statements about the institution of the church. Then, when you are thinking about a certain theme that your participants have used such as images of God, you can search out all the yellow highlighting and quickly find these references’ (2001: 392).

Steps in content analysis Content analysis is a clear and often effective approach to data analysis. The steps involved are as follows: s $ECIDEONTHECENTRALTHEMEYOUWISHTOSEARCHFORINTHETEXT s )NVENT A SET OF ANALYTICAL CATEGORIES n IN A WRITTEN TEXT THESE MAY BE SPECIlC WORDS s #OUNTTHENUMBEROFTIMES ORINTHECASEOF#RAINSRESEARCH THEAMOUNTOF space given to each indicator as it appears in the text. (Crain did this by using coloured marker pens on the transcript to identify the key words.) s 4HEAMOUNTOFSPACEDEVOTEDTOATHEMEINTHETEXTWILLTELLYOUSOMETHING about its significance. s /NCEYOUHAVECOUNTEDALLTHEKEYWORDS DRAWANINFERENCE

With this approach the researcher categorises comments made by respondents in the interview. The researcher then marks the topics or categories identified within the transcript with the coloured marker pens and engages in creative and sensitive aggregation of the data in an effort to draw an appropriate inference and construct an explanation. This approach to explanation building may be regarded by some people as subjective – but for many researchers there is no better way to make sense of the complexities of people’s responses to in-depth interview questions.

Narrative analysis An alternative approach to data analysis of a transcript is to engage in a form of narrative analysis. The purpose of the narrative analysis is to understand the narrative (people’s spoken word) as a whole. The transcript is scrutinised to identify its central meaning, allowing the researcher to identify themes. Researchers examine the transcript in order

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to find an expression that reflects the fundamental meaning of the narrative as a whole. Passages that are thematically representative of the narrative, and reflect a common understanding amongst the respondents, are used in the final research report, to give the reader a clear insight into the respondents’ perception of the issues. This approach was adopted by Kallioniemi: ‘The analysis of the research material was started after the seventh interview with preliminary categories being constructed from the material. All the research material was looked at to obtain an overall impression. After this every single interview was analysed separately. Then they were reduced to the general ideas of students who were interviewed and their different lines of emphasis were determined. In analysing the material the researcher defined the units of interpretation with the help of key questions. The units of interpretation could be used to find one or more meanings. These units of interpretation could not be defined beforehand, although they could be found when the researcher had read and analysed the material’ (2003: 190). This form of analysis of the transcript can be prone to errors such as a category error where we wrongly place one observation into the wrong category or simply misunderstand something that we read or hear. In addition, the researcher’s perspective, personal or political biases can shape or influence our understanding of the data we have collected.

Thinkpiece It is commonly assumed that if the interviewer and interviewee share important demographic characteristics such as gender, age, ethnic and social class background the more likely it is that this will encourage more honest, full and frank responses. Reinharz (1992) and Harding (1987) argue that for some topics, only female researchers should interview women. Anne Oakley (1981) investigated the experience of a group of women who were giving birth to their first children. Her argument was that the first pregnancy has a significant impact on the lives of women, their careers, relationships with husbands/partners, housework and sense of self. Oakley wanted to find out if the feelings she had had about becoming a mother for the first time were common amongst other women. Oakley asked open and often very personal questions about the experience of being pregnant, the birth and shared her own thoughts, feelings and reflections about her own experiences with the women. Questions 1. You may want to reflect on how you would feel in an interview with a person who did not share your gender. Are there issues that you would not be willing to discuss with a researcher of the opposite sex? 2. Could a man have conducted Anne Oakley’s research into pregnancy and motherhood and obtained the same quality of data?

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The funnel One approach developed by Brannen (1988) to gather sensitive personal accounts is known as the funnel. We invite our respondents to answer questions about a very broad or general area of investigation such as ‘family life’. However, over the course of the interview we gradually sharpen the focus of our questioning to look at our area of interest, which will be a sensitive issue related to family life such as domestic violence or child abuse. The assumption is that although a person may be unwilling to consent to be interviewed on this subject, by skilful use of questioning it may become possible to get very full and personal responses to our questions.

Thinkpiece The ethics of in-depth interviewing Does the use of the funnel – or any other approach that involves the respondent consenting to answer general questions about an area of investigation, when the researcher’s intention is to allow detailed questions about a sensitive issue to emerge over the course of the interview – raise any ethical issues or concerns about informed consent?

Collaborative interviewing In order to move away from the potential ethical issues raised by the funnel, Laslett AND 2APOPORT  DEVELOPED AN APPROACH TO IN DEPTH INTERVIEWING KNOWN AS collaborative interviewing. This approach has been used in feminist research. With collaborative interviewing the interview guide is shared with the respondent so that the respondent knows the questions to be asked over the course of the interview. Interviews tend to be longitudinal in nature, in other words there are a series of several interviews with the same respondent over a period of time. At the start of the interview the respondent is asked to reflect on the previous session and can ask for information to be added or removed from the account given. The approach also recognises that with sensitive subjects a respondent may feel unhappy giving potentially damaging or embarrassing personal information to a stranger. To overcome this imbalance, collaborative interviewing attempts to create a much fuller rapport between the interviewer and the respondent. Both the interviewer and the respondent share personal information about each other in the interview so that the data collection process has the feel of a conversation.

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Selecting the sample With structured interviews that involve collecting information from a sample drawn from a large population it is usual for researchers to outline their sampling procedure. If we want to argue that our findings are representative of the population we need to have a representative sample of the population. Chapter 12 on the sample survey looks in detail at the process of sampling including: sampling frames; choosing an appropriate sampling frame; sampling procedure; probability sampling; sampling interval; nonprobability sampling; stratified sampling; quota sampling; and sample size. Chapter 12 will also look at the use of appropriate statistical techniques to draw conclusions from a set of data; the observed values of variables are called statistics or statistical characteristics, where we attempt to infer from what we have observed (the sample) to what we have not (the whole population). At this stage it is important to note that a random sample, or probability sample, as it is also known, is very systematic in nature. As researchers we select the sample in such a way that each person in the population we are interested in has an equal chance of being selected: this is commonly referred to as randomised selection. A random sample does not simply involve stopping people at random and asking them if they would like to answer a few questions – this approach is known as convenience sampling or opportunistic sampling. This form of sampling should be avoided as it does not produce a representative sample of the population. In a nutshell, to conduct a random sample you need to: s IDENTIFYTHEPOPULATIONYOUAREINTERESTEDINRESEARCHING s IDENTIFYORlNDALISTOFALLTHEPEOPLEINTHEPOPULATIONYOUAREINTERESTEDINnTHIS is the sampling frame; s SELECTASAMPLINGINTERVALBYARANDOMMETHOD SUCHASSELECTINGARANDOMNUMBER (The sampling interval is the gap (interval) from the first person you select from the sampling to the next, and you keep selecting people at the same interval until you come to the end of the list of names.) With in-depth interviews it is often the case that the population that you are interested in are hidden from public view or that no list of people in the population you are interested in is available to you. In cases like this researchers often have to use some form of non-probability sampling procedure such as snowball sampling. You approach a known member of the population you are interested in and ask if they would like to participate in the research project. In addition you also ask if they could approach other people from the population and ask them if they would like to volunteer to participate in the sample. The idea is that the sample gradually grows larger and although we can never be sure that our snowball sample is representative of the population we are interested in this procedure does give us a group of people from the population we are interested in. Snowball sampling is much more effective if the researcher can enlist a sponsor who can reassure the people who are approached that the research is legitimate.

Group interviews and focus groups

Harris et al.’s research made use of a sponsor and they briefly describe what the sponsor did as follows: ‘The second author on this article, who was also the principal investigator on the project, contacted two leaders of Latino organizations and two Catholic priests who had large Latino memberships. These two leaders and two priests helped identify COUPLESWHOHADSTRONGMARRIAGES  In the chapter so far we have assumed that interviews are conducted between one researcher and one respondent. There are however forms of group interview or focus group that you might find useful.

Group interviews and focus groups A focus group can be defined as a group-based in-depth interview, the main aim of which is to explain and understand, the meanings, feelings, beliefs and attitudes that influence the behaviours of individuals who are assumed to share a common culture, problem or issue. Participants in a focus group are selected by the use of purposive sampling. In other words, the individuals may not be representative of the population we are interested in but they are from the specific population we are interested in. They all have knowledge of the area we are investigating and as such we can reasonably expect that the group will be ‘focused’ on the topic for discussion. If group members feel comfortable disclosing personal information to other group members they will often question each other and/or raise issues that you as the researcher may not have been aware of. In addition, the social interaction within the group often exposes differences in perspective between group members. Potentially the method can generate data that are deeper and richer than that collected from one-to-one interviews. However, the difficulties involved in maintaining confidentiality and anonymity mean that a high level of trust is required from group members in order to maintain the ethics of the data collection process. In terms of the practical steps for data collection, one issue that needs to be addressed is whether to choose group participants who are already known to each other. On the one hand this could encourage more honest responses but on the other hand issues within the group that are not related to the topic under discussion can affect the dynamics within the group. There are a number of important roles that need to be filled if the group discussion is going to be ordered. One is the group facilitator or moderator who has the role of managing the discussion and making sure that all participants get an opportunity to engage in the discussion. In addition, even if you agree with the group that the group discussion can be tape recorded you should still employ a note taker to record the non-verbal interaction within the group. As the researcher you also need to decide on the number of people you want to include in the group.

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The more people who are involved in the discussion the more data will be generated. However, the more people involved the more difficult it becomes to complete a transcript or keep order in the room.

Online interviews In the chapter so far we have assumed that interviews are conducted between the researcher and the respondent face to face, in real time. There is no reason why interviews have to be conducted face to face: synchronous (real time) interviews and asynchronous (non-real time) interviews can be conducted online. Not only is the internet very popular as a source of information and as a form of communication between friends and colleagues but by making use of social networking sites it is possible for people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, over great distances and who have never physically met face to face to have associations and social contact online. With synchronous interviews the respondent and the researcher have to be online at the same time usually via MSN messenger or a chat room. The most common form of asynchronous interview is by the use of email. However, there are other forums such as bulletin boards or online discussion groups. With the asynchronous email interview the researcher sends an email to the respondent and asks if they would be willing to participate in the research project. Once the respondent has agreed to participate, the researcher then sends an email with the questions to the respondent who then completes the questions and returns the completed answers. The interview can take place over a period of time with several exchanges of email.

Advantages of email interviewing s 0EOPLEAREFAMILIARWITHEMAILANDITISMUCHCHEAPERTHANHAVINGTOTRAVEL and meet people face to face. s 4HEUSUALLYTIME CONSUMINGTASKOFWRITINGATRANSCRIPTISSIGNIlCANTLYREDUCED because answers can be cut from the main body of the email and pasted into a Word document. s %MAIL CAN BE SENT AND RETURNED QUICKLY OVER LONG DISTANCES TO PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT time zones. s 1UESTIONSCANBEANSWEREDATTHECONVENIENCEOFTHERESPONDENT s 4HE METHOD IS IDEAL FOR LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH AS RESEARCHERS CAN ASK SUPPLEmentary questions in response to the answers given. s 4HERESPONDENTHASTIMETOREmECTONTHEIRANSWERS s &OCUSGROUPSORGROUPINTERVIEWSCANALSOBECONDUCTEDBYEMAILBYASKING respondents to reply-to-all when responding to questions.

Online interviews

s *OINSONAND0AINE .GUYENAND!LEXANDER AND7ELLMANAND Gulia (1999) have all suggested that respondents are more willing to be open and honest with strangers online than in face-to-face interviews. s 3HY PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT AGREE TO A FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW ARE PERHAPS MORE willing to participate. s "IASES THAT MIGHT EMERGE IN A FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW BECAUSE OF DIFFERENCES between the respondent and the researcher in terms of gender, age, race or disability status are diminished. s 3NOWBALL SAMPLING IS MORE EFFECTIVE ONLINE AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO EMAIL ORGANISATIONS or support groups associated with the population we wish to interview.

However, many researchers might consider the disembodied, anonymous and textual internet environment to be unsuitable for qualitative research, especially if the research project requires us to collect sensitive and personal information. There are potential disadvantages that researchers have to take into account.

Disadvantages of email interviewing s 2EmECTION DRAFTING AND REDRAFTING RESPONSES CAN INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD that respondents will give rational or socially acceptable reasons for their actions or beliefs in their responses which damages the validity of the research findings. s 4HERE IS LIMITED OPPORTUNITY TO PROMPT AND PROBE RESPONDENTS AS THEY CAN simply delete or ignore emails. s 4HEAUTHENTICITYOFTHEDATAISPOTENTIALLYQUESTIONABLEWHENGATHEREDUSING online interviews. s 2ESEARCHERSHAVETOACCEPTWHOAPERSONCLAIMSTOBEATFACEVALUEANDWHEN satisfied of this then there are additional ethical problems to overcome. s )T MAY BE MORE DIFlCULT FOR RESEARCHERS TO MAINTAIN THE CONlDENTIALITY AND privacy of the respondents. s 4HEREAREADDITIONALPROBLEMSMAINTAININGTHESECURITYOFONLINEDATA s &INALLY THE BORDER BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACES ONLINE NEEDS TO BE addressed. If a person contributes to a blog or posts a comment on a website can we use that information without the author’s informed consent? The information may be in the public domain but you may still need permission to use it for research purposes.

A fuller account of online synchronous and asynchronous interviews can be found in "ECK   $AVIS et al. (2004); Egan et al. (2006); Hamilton and Bowers (2006); *AMES *AMESAND"USHER 

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Conclusion It is important to keep in mind that a good interview online is very similar to a good face-to-face interview, in that there are a number of stages that you have to go through before you start the data collection process: s (AVEACLEARIDEAOFTHETYPEOFINFORMATIONYOUWANTFROMTHERESPONDENT s 3ELECTANAPPROPRIATEGROUPOFPEOPLEORSAMPLEOFPEOPLETOINTERVIEW s (AVEACLEARPREAMBLEINWHICHYOUEXPLAINTOTHERESPONDENTWHATTHERESEARCHIS about; confidentiality; who will see the information they give you; how the information will be used; and if the research report will be accessible by the public. s 'ETPERMISSIONANDETHICALAPPROVAL s 1UESTIONS SHOULD BE RELATED TO KEY CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES n THIS INCLUDES OPEN questions, closed questions and mixed questions. s !SKNON SENSITIVEQUESTIONSlRSTnTOPUTTHERESPONDENTATEASE s !TTHEENDOFTHEINTERVIEW REmECTONHOWTHEINTERVIEWWENT$IDYOUGETCOMPLETE or valid responses? s #HOOSEANAPPROPRIATEMETHODOFDATAANALYSIS Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica use the interview as her method of data collection? From her reading Erica knows that if she wanted to use the interview as her main method of data collection the first stage is for her to think about the purpose of the research project, what questions she wants to explore, what her aims and objectives are for the project and who she is going to interview. As we now know, zoos have a moral as well as a legal obligation to provide visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability. Erica’s aim for the research project is find out how well or how badly zoos fulfil their legal obligations. But how can she find the information she needs? Who can she interview? One option would be to interview people who inspect zoos to find out how well zoos are fulfilling their obligations. Bodies such as the Zoos Inspectorate, the Wildlife Inspectorate or the RSPCA Inspectorate could be approached. But she could find this information from the reports these bodies have published, so instead Erica decides to interview visitors. One problem is that there is no available sampling frame, no list of zoo visitors that Erica can use to conduct random sampling. She could interview people who were leaving zoos and ask them questions about their knowledge of biodiversity and sustainability. Social Trends, which is available via the National Statistics Office, gives some information on the number of zoo visitors and some of their demographic characteristics such as age. Erica could use this information to design a quota sample: a sample that although not selected by a systematic

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sampling procedure should generate a population that has the characteristics and features of a sample selected at random, with, for example, the appropriate numbers of females and males, children, retired people, parents and grandparents. Erica is of the opinion that she should try to find out some factual information from her respondents about what they know about biodiversity and sustainability. Moreover, because Erica is also of opinion that this information is not intrusive, not personal and not sensitive she decides to ask closed questions in which the respondents are asked to choose from a limited range of responses that she will provide for them. After all she has read in the chapter that the great advantage of the closed question format is that because the responses she provides the respondents to choose from are already organised into categories that reflect the aims of her research project, the data analysis should be much simpler. There are still problems for her to overcome. Devising closed questions about biodiversity and sustainability is not an easy task especially when many of the respondents are children. Erica also knows that ideally her questions should reflect key issues within the field that academic research has addressed. She decides to approach the interview as a quiz to be conducted with volunteer respondents as they leave the zoo. She decides to choose one or more zoos, read the signs, other information and educational literature that the zoo provides visitors, and design a collection of factual questions that have a right or wrong answer. This should provide her with factual information on the knowledge that visitors have about biodiversity and sustainability. Erica writes a preamble in which she introduces herself, explains that she is doing a research project about biodiversity and sustainability and asks people if they would mind participating in the ‘quiz’.

Bibliography "ECK #4  @"ENElTS OF 0ARTICIPATING IN )NTERNET )NTERVIEWS 7OMEN (ELPING Women’, Qualitative Health Research  n "RANNEN * @4HESTUDYOFSENSITIVESUBJECTS The Sociological Review n Cicourel, A.V. (1964) Method and Measurement in Sociology, New York: Free Press. Crain, M.A. (2001) ‘Looking at People and Asking “Why?”: an ethnographic approach to religious education’, Religious Education, 96(3): 386–94. Davies, H.T.O., Nutley, S.M. and Smith, P.C. (2004) What Works? Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Public Services, Bristol: The Policy Press. %GAN ,! "UTCHER 0 (OWARD * (AMPSHIRE ! (ENSON #AND(OMEL 2 ‘The impact of tertiary-level humanities education for homeless and marginalised PEOPLE HTTPWWWAAREEDUAUPAPEGAPDFACCESSED!PRIL 

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Fielding, N. (1993) ‘Ethnography’ in N. Gilbert (ed.) Researching Social Life, London: Sage. Harding, S. (ed.) (1987) Feminism & methodology, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Harris, V.W., Skogrand, L. and Hatch, D. (2008) ‘Role of Friendship, Trust, and Love in Strong Latino Marriages’, Marriage & Family Review  n Hamilton, R. and Bowers, B. (2006) ‘Internet Recruitment and Email Interviews in Qualitative Studies’, Qualitative Health Research n *AMES .  @4HE USE OF EMAIL INTERVIEWING AS A QUALITATIVE METHOD OF INQUIRY in educational research’, British Educational Research Journal, 33(6): 963–76. *AMES .AND"USHER ( @%THICALISSUESINONLINEEDUCATIONALRESEARCHPROTECTing privacy, establishing authenticity in email interviewing’, International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 30(1): 101–13. *OINSON !. AND 0AINE #  @3ELF DISCLOSURE PRIVACY AND THE )NTERNET IN !.*OINSON +9!-C+ENNA 40OSTMESAND5 $2EIPSEDS Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kallioniemi, A. (2003) ‘Adult Senior Secondary School Students’ Concepts Concerning Religious Education from a Qualitative Perspective’, British Journal of Religious Education,  n Kvale, S. and Brinkmann, S. (2008) Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing (2nd edn), London: Sage. ,ASLETT " AND 2APOPORT 2  @#OLLABORATIVE )NTERVIEWING AND )NTERACTIVE Research’, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 37(9): 68–77. .GUYEN $4AND!LEXANDER * @4HE#OMINGOF#YBERSPACETIMEANDTHE%NDOF the Polity’ in R. Shields (ed.) Cultures of Internet: Virtual Spaces, Real Histories, Living Bodies, London: Sage. Oakley, A. (1981) ‘Interviewing Women: A Contradiction in Terms’, in H. Roberts (ed.) Doing Feminist Research, New York: Routledge. Reinharz, S. (1992) Feminist Methods in Social Research, New York: Oxford University Press. Wellman, B. and Guila, M. (1999) ‘Net Surfers Don’t Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities’, in P. Kollock and M. Smith (eds) Communities and Cyberspace, New York: Routledge.

6 The case study

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Introduction The case study is one of the most appropriate methods of data collection for a researcher who is working alone on a project with a limited amount of time and resources. In brief, the case study approach is an in-depth investigation into a case and a case is simply the focus of our research. The purpose of the case study is to gather a great deal of detailed information about that one single case. This means that case studies are often very broad in nature and as a researcher you need to make it clear to your reader what your focus or ‘unit of analysis’ (the specific thing you are investigating) will be in the study. Case studies can have a focus on a geographical location, such as William Foote Whyte’s study of an Italian American community he called Cornerville; or an in-depth investigation of a decision such as Graham Allison’s study of the Cuban Missile Crisis; or a personal history such as Harold Garfinkel’s study of Agnes the transsexual. According to Yin (1989) a case study is an empirical inquiry that is used to investigate issues of concern within a real life context. Very often as researchers we are unsure if people’s motivation to act is shaped by the context in which they find themselves or if they have free will to act as they choose. As Yin suggests, within the case the boundaries between personal motivation and context in which the action takes place is not clear:

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‘the case study allows an investigation to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events – such as individual life cycles, organizational and managerial processes, neighbourhood change, international relations, and the maturation of industries’ (Yin 1989: 14). Traditionally case studies have been associated with qualitative methods of data collection. Interpretation is always a central element of the case study approach, and the motivation and meanings of the respondents have to be directly recognised by the researcher. In addition, as a researcher you have to be aware that there is often a high cost to the case study approach not only in terms of time and money. There are many potential ethical concerns with this approach, as this form of social research involves some invasion of personal privacy. The case study approach can often be subjective and like other forms of qualitative inquiry the researcher has to be aware of when they are offering a personal and subjective view of the case. However, case studies allow the researcher to identify issues that emerge from the respondents and issues that are imposed on the respondents from outside of the case. Yin suggests that the case study is central to the ethnographic approach to research but it is possible to conduct a case study without leaving the library or even leaving your house. In summary, the two principal uses of case study research are to obtain: 1. descriptions, and 2. interpretations of others. It is for these reasons that case studies are most commonly used by researchers who are engaged in qualitative research projects.

Qualitative methods Qualitative research has been defined as ‘any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification’ (McLeod 1994: 77). Denzin and Lincoln define qualitative research as: ‘multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials – case study, personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts – that describe routine and problematic moments and meaning in individuals’ lives’ (1994: 2).

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Forms of case study It is not uncommon with case studies for the researcher to use several methods of data collection at the same time; this is because very often researchers are interested in collecting information or evidence from several sources. A case study can be either: s ANINSTRUMENTALCASESTUDY OR s ANINTRINSICCASESTUDY

The instrumental case study This involves research to gain an understanding of some wider phenomena or relationships within the world. Willis (1977) for example, investigated the behaviour of 12 ‘lads’ in a single-sex secondary school in order to understand more fully the Marxian analysis of class formation. Although Willis suggests that the 1970s was a period of upward social mobility in which any single individual had the potential to make use of the education system to move up the class ladder into a professional or managerial occupation, not all school children could be upwardly mobile. So Willis wanted to understand how and why working class children got working class jobs. Willis worked behind a coffee bar in a youth centre that was attached to a secondary modern school in the Midlands. He identified the group of 12 ‘lads’ who were to be the focus of his study and then sought permission from the school to observe the ‘lads’ in school. Willis observed two subcultures within school. First there were the earholes, who accepted the teachers’ definition of the role of the school, who worked hard in class, wanted to do well in public examinations and accepted the authority of the teachers. Willis explains that this group was called the earholes because they were always listening to the teachers. The other subculture observed by Willis was known as the lads. This group did not accept the teachers’ definition of the role of the school, they did not work hard in class, they wanted to leave school at the earliest opportunity without taking public examinations and continuously challenged the authority of the teachers. Willis gives a very detailed account of the school lives of the lads in which he describes and explains the masculine shop floor culture that the lads used within the school environment. The types of behaviours that the lads engaged in such as ‘taking the piss’ and ‘having a laugh’ at the expense of the teachers and the earholes was the same sort of behaviour that he was to later observe when the lads got jobs in factories. However, Willis’ focus is not solely on processes and events within the school, he was interested in how the wider processes of class formation found in capitalist societies could be observed in the behaviour of the lads.

The intrinsic case study This occurs when the researcher conducts the case study because they want to know more about the case itself. In other words, the case itself is of primary, not secondary interest.

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For many researchers describing and understanding the concrete experiences of people is the focus of their study. With the intrinsic case study what is important is the understanding of the nature of the experience that each individual person has within the case. Later in this chapter there is a discussion of Foote Whyte’s 1943 study Street Corner Society. This is a very good example of an intrinsic case study as Whyte was only interested in looking at the behaviour of the people in the Italian American community he observed, without attempting to relate his observation to wider social processes. Researchers such as Willis (1977) who attempt to identify and describe common themes often miss the meaning of the action for the individual. The aim of many case studies is not to be able to make generalisations about a large population but to provide a highly valid account of one ‘case’. The aim of the intrinsic case study is to allow the researcher to aim for particularisation not generalisation. In the intrinsic case study the data should lead to generation of the theory, whilst with an instrumental case study we have to interpret our observations on the basis of a particular theoretical framework. In the case of Willis this framework was the Marxist analysis of class formation. In summary, with the instrumental case study the research process starts with a given theory that the researcher wants to find evidence to help prove or disprove. With the intrinsic case study the researcher is interested in finding out more about the case as an end in itself rather than looking for evidence to help prove or disprove a given theory.

Styles of case study Yin (1989) identifies three distinct ‘styles’ of case study research: 1. the descriptive case study, 2. the explanatory case study, 3. the journalistic case study. In all three styles of research, the case study does not involve any form of systematic ‘sampling’ of the population as the first stage of the research process, although it may be possible for the researcher to claim that the case under investigation is in many respects a ‘typical’ case. Rather, the first obligation of the researcher is to provide an in-depth understanding of one selected case.

The descriptive case study In his account of the descriptive case study Yin discusses the example of Foote Whyte’s 1943 Street Corner Society – a study of an Italian-American community the latter calls ‘Cornerville’. This study was one of the first to make use of a technique of data analysis that was later to become know as grounded theory. (You might find it useful to look at the

Styles of case study

methodological appendix that Foote Whyte added to the 1955 edition of his book for more details.) In this approach, the researcher has no hypothesis or guiding theoretical assumptions about the case, but simply allows the data to ‘speak for itself ’. As data are collected they are placed into appropriate categories or folders, such as data on family life, religion, crime, the local economy etc. Then as the categories get bigger, or become saturated they are sub-divided into sub-folders on different types of family, different types of religion etc. Over the course of the research process correlations or links suggest themselves within the array of data, for example relationships between types of family and different types of crime. The emphasis is on open-mindedness and a form of theory building in which a theory then emerges from the data. Grounded theory has become one of the most important techniques for the process of explanation building within the ethnographic approach to research. Grounded theory was developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and the process of explanation building involves the creation of categories for the collection, organisation and analysis of observational data. Glaser and Strauss explain: ‘In discovering theory, one generates conceptual categories or their properties from evidence; then the evidence from which the category emerged is used to illustrate the concept’ (1967: 23). What is significant for researchers about grounded theory is that you can start a research project without a clear and detailed hypothesis but still generate important findings and coherent explanations of events. As we can see in Foote Whyte’s research discussed here, by simply but systematically observing and categorising behaviours it is possible over time to infer or suggest links or relationships between the categories of observed data and a theory or hypothesis can present itself to the researcher.

Grounded theory Grounded theory is useful for research projects where there is little existing theory or research in the area. The grounded theory approach involves the systematic collection and interpretation of data within the research context. As researchers we collect data and place it in categories that we feel are appropriate for understanding the nature of the action within the context. As more data is collected our categories become full or ‘saturated’, we redefine our categories or sub-divide our categories until we are convinced that we can a derive a relationship between two or more categories of data. This inferred relationship between two or more of the categories of data forms the basis for a systematic and substantive theory. Critics of the approach suggest that it lacks reliability because both the choice of the initial set of categories (open coding) and the redefined categories (axial coding), and drawing an inference by suggesting a relationship between categories to generate a theory, can be a highly personal process that relies heavily upon the researcher’s creativity and imagination. The steps taken in the process of explanation building cannot be clearly described for another researcher to follow and reproduce the study.

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The Cornerville study is also significant because Foote Whyte gained access to Cornerville by using a sponsor or gatekeeper named Doc. Foote Whyte initially met Doc by chance during one of his failed attempts to gain the trust of the people who lived in the community. Foote Whyte explained what the research project was about and gained Doc’s approval. Doc was well known in the area, and could introduce Foote Whyte to respondents and provide reassurance to the respondents about the research project.

Thinkpiece You as a researcher might consider making use of a sponsor or gatekeeper such as Doc. However, Foote Whyte does not explain how to identify or recruit a potential sponsor. Reflect for a moment on how you might do this.

Many students are surprised by the level of concern and distrust generated by data collection. If a student wanted to look at management styles, leadership or motivation in the workplace many respondents may be concerned that the data collected might be used to undermine their position. The sponsor or gatekeeper can help to alleviate many of these concerns.

The explanatory case study In his discussion of the explanatory case study Yin discusses the 1971 example of Allison’s Essence of Decision Making: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962, the Soviet Union started to build nuclear missile installations on the island of Cuba. There followed a very tense exchange of views and opinions between American President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev. At the time the USA had missiles that could reach the Soviet Union, however, Soviet missiles could only strike European targets. By placing missiles on Cuba, the Soviet Union would have strategic advantage in the Cold War. On hearing the news, President Kennedy blockaded the island and demanded that the missiles be removed. Khrushchev responded by saying that the missiles would only be removed if the USA removed its missiles from Turkey and agreed to not invade Cuba as it had attempted in 1961. Kennedy appeared to reject the request to dismantle missiles in Turkey but agreed to the request to not invade Cuba. However, a blockade of the island is still in place (currently until 14 September 2012). The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest that the USA and the former Soviet Union came to a nuclear conflict. In this case, the unit of analysis is a series of decisions made by the key participants in the conflict. Allison was interested in understanding why a given decision was made at the time rather than one of the alternative decisions that were also available at the time. Why any particular decision was made at a given point in time could be the focus of a case study. You could investigate an historical decision by looking at newspapers and other documents. For example, why were comprehensive schools introduced? Why did the British government decide to privatise the water supply? Or it can be a decision

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made by a local authority: why was a children’s playground redeveloped, why was a school closed or its name changed?

Thinkpiece Undergraduates are often expected to conduct a research project whilst on a workrelated placement with an employer. It is sadly not uncommon for students to start a work placement with a host organisation that goes out of business during the period of the placement. Put yourself in the position of a student doing a work placement-based research project that is formally assessed, with a host organisation that goes out of business. You have been on placement for 7 weeks of a 10-week placement; you have conducted a number of interviews and collected some of the questionnaires you distributed to the staff. The university allows students four weeks to write up their findings after the 10-week placement comes to an end. Questions 1. What would you do? 2. Draw up a list of advantages and disadvantages to conducting a case study into the decision of the host organisation to stop trading? (You might consider looking into the motives of the management of the host organisation, outlining the consequences for employees and customers, and consider other courses of action that could have been taken.)

The journalistic case study The third type of case study that Yin describes is the journalistic case study. Yin gives the example of Bernstein and Woodward (1974) All the President’s Men. With this form of case study the researchers behave in the same manner as investigative journalists in that they search for a news story to investigate. In the case of Bernstein and Woodward they uncovered that President Richard Nixon had been involved in an attempt to steal presidential campaign details from the Democratic Party headquarters. The journalists were assisted by a secretive informant who was known to them as Deep Throat. Many years later the identity of Deep Throat was revealed to be W. Mark Felt, who at the time of the scandal was second-in-command at the FBI.

Emic v. etic approaches Emic issues are issues that emerge from inside the case. To fully understand the views of people who are ‘inside’ the case we have to make use of a technique known as verstehen. This is a process of subjective understanding that involves the researcher putting themselves in the position of the respondent and looking at the world through the eyes of

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the respondent. We can only do this if we learn how to suspend our judgements of the activities we observe and to recognise our personal biases. Other researchers have referred to this approach as suspending the natural attitude or making strange the world of lived experience. In 1962 Howard Becker published his influential book The Outsiders. This book is an analysis containing two case studies, one of a dance musician and the other of a marijuana smoker. Becker opens his case study of the marijuana smoker by looking at the history of marijuana use in the USA including the attempts by the US authorities to restrict consumption of the drug by enacting the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Becker explains how individuals progress from beginner, into occasional user, into a regular recreational user of the drug. A person has to learn to appreciate the effects of the drug as enjoyable. This progression is described by Becker as a moral career; individuals become treated as deviants or outsiders and become socialised into a subculture with marijuana use as a central element. In the same book Becker (1962) investigates the lives of Chicago dance musicians who because of their unconventional lifestyles are also regarded as forming a deviant subculture. Again individuals have to learn how to conform to the norms, values, dress code and language of the dance musicians’ subculture in order to be accepted as part of the group. Becker provides his reader with two very good examples of case studies of life histories that describe and explain the notion of a moral career, which simply means how a person learns to become recognised as the performer of a distinct role. The etic perspective often draws upon external perceptions of the group under investigation. Such perceptions might come from the government or may be widely discussed in other social science research. In contrast, emic issues are issues that emerge from within the case, in other words these are issues that emerge from the people we are investigating.

Thinkpiece Pros and cons of the two approaches Nicolaidou and Ainscow describe their sense of the emic and etic approaches in the following way: ‘During the pilot study, we came to realise that the “etic” issues that we as “outsiders” had adopted through working with the available literature, were at times inconsistent with the “real world” we were investigating (Stake 1995). Therefore, following Stake’s advice, we decided to “amend” the knowledge we had previously gained and allow for “emic” issues to emerge, giving way for deeper understanding to be achieved. This increased our belief that the methodological design for the actual research project had to be emergent, and to a minimum extent theoretically driven, since this might not allow us to decipher the deeper levels of those taken-for-granted assumptions with which we wanted to engage’ (2005: 233). Question Outline and list the pros and cons for each of the emic and etic approaches.

The critical incident approach

Points to consider There is no, simple, one way to conduct a case study. As a researcher you must decide the stance you are going to take in relation to the case: s $O YOU INTEND TO PARTICIPATE PERSONALLY IN THE ACTIVITIES YOU OBSERVE WITHIN the case? s (OWDOYOUINTENDTOPRESENTYOURSELFTOTHEPEOPLEWITHINTHECASEEXPERT neutral observer or critical analyst? s 7HATLEVELOFINTERPRETATIONAREYOUGOINGTOPROVIDEABOUTTHECASE s 4OWHATEXTENTSHOULDYOUADVOCATEAPOSITIONORAS"ECKERASKS@7HOSSIDE are you on?’

The critical incident approach Critical incidents are often ‘highly charged moments and episodes that have enormous consequences for personal change and development’ (Sikes et al. 1985: 230). For Brookfield (1995) the incident in a critical incident form of case study is an episode experienced by a person as significant through a process of critical reflection on the episode. What makes a given incident significant or critical is the impact that the incident has on the respondent either personally or professionally. Brookfield goes on to explain that critical reflection is about hunting for underlying assumptions that are the basis of the knowledge, values and beliefs we take for granted. The study of a critical incident is a widely used form of case study method recognised as an effective exploratory and investigative tool. It is a useful exploratory tool in the early stages of research and as we shall see below the technique can have a role to play in building theories or models. Flanagan (1959) argues that the study of critical incidents has its roots in the Aviation Psychology Program of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF), which was used to select and classify aircrews in the Second World War. The aim of this research was to systematically study pilots’ behaviour in order to identify the critical requirements needed for their effective performance and provided the basis for the development of selection tests. Flanagan (1959) defined a critical incident as any complete and observed activity that could be used to allow us to make a judgement about the motive and intention of the individual person and enable us to identify the consequences of their action. For Flanagan the study of a critical incident: ‘does not consist of a single rigid set of rules governing such data collection. Rather it should be thought of as a flexible set of principles that must be modified and adapted to meet the specific situation at hand’ (1954: 335).

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Thinkpiece Think of an incident that has affected your personal and/or professional development: Questions 1. Is the incident explained by a given theory that you are familiar with? 2. Does the incident have implications for other practitioners?

The study of critical incidents flexibility is demonstrated in its focus on: s s s s s

STUDYINGEFFECTIVEANDINEFFECTIVEWAYSOFDOINGSOMETHING IDENTIFYINGTHEHELPINGANDHINDERINGFACTORS COLLECTINGFUNCTIONALORBEHAVIOURALDESCRIPTIONSOFEVENTSORPROBLEMS EXAMININGSUCCESSESANDFAILURES DETERMINING CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF AN ACTIVITY OR EVENT (Flanagan, 1954).

Herzberg et al. (1959) used the critical incident methodology to study work motivation. Other critical incident research has included: s PERCEPTIONSOFPROBLEMSFACINGWORKGROUPS$I3ALVOet al. 1989); s MANAGERSBELIEFSABOUTTHEIRROLESASFACILITATORSOFLEARNING%LLINGERAND"OSTROM 2002); s THEEXPERIENCEOFUNEMPLOYMENT"ORGENet al. 1990). As researchers we can use critical incidents as a basis for reflection on action and this implies going deeper into what we consider to be the motives of people involved in the incident, raising consciousness and generating knowledge. Brookfield (1995) suggests that reflection is bringing our preconceived ideas to the edge of what we take for granted. According to Fook and Napier (2000) critical reflection implies understanding our structural position, searching for connections between personal and political issues that help us redefine personal troubles as part of a range of public issues. Critical incidents are often ‘highly charged moments and episodes that have enormous consequences for personal change and development’ (Sikes et al. 1985: 230).

How to employ the critical incident approach If you want to conduct a research project using a critical incident approach what do you need to do? First, you need to identify an incident that is critical for you or your respondents. Secondly, you need to describe the incident. Thirdly, you need to place

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the incident within a context of relevant theory and research. This means that you search for relevant research that might help to explain why individuals behaved in the way that they did during the incident. Finally you need to draw a conclusion.

Theoretical and empirical generalisations The description of an incident can have important theoretical implications. As we collect descriptions and interpretations of critical incidents from the respondents we can look for similarities and common themes within the accounts that respondents give us. The inference we draw from each described incident can add to the validity of a given theory. Even when cases are not typical of all cases in the field, the critical incident approach still allows us as researchers to make theoretical, rather than empirical, generalisations. In the same way that Willis (1977) could not generalise about all schools by looking at one group of 12 ‘lads’, he could use the case of the 12 ‘lads’ and the processes they go through to get working class jobs to add to the validity of the Marxian theory of class reproduction. A critical incident approach cannot be used to make: s ANempirical generalisation (i.e. we cannot say that all cases are the same as the one case we have investigated), but it can be used to make s Atheoretical generalisation (i.e. when we say that out discussion of the one case is explained by a given theory and as such our analysis of the case adds to the validity of that given theory). Angelides and Ainscow argue that the investigation of critical incidents can be ‘used to disclose concealed taken for granted assumptions and beliefs which constitute manifestations of culture’ (2000: 149). The purpose is not to produce an objective and value-free account but rather to construct a coherent and informed narrative that draws upon the research in the area to supplement personal observation of the incident and explain the wider socio-political consequences. The aim of the critical incident investigation is not to generate an objective account but rather to generate an account rooted in ‘conscious partiality’. Critical incident research is not conducted in order to generate spectator knowledge but to provide the reader with a view of the events and the significance from the perspective of the individual involved in the incident, in order to raise the consciousness of others who find themselves in the same position as the individual who experienced the critical incident. However, if you choose to investigate a critical incident in, for example, your place of work, you have to remember that there are problems doing research in your own practice setting. On the one hand, there is the ethical problem of a potential betrayal of trust, but on the other hand a researcher has to have a high degree of familiarity and mutual personal knowledge to produce valid research findings.

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Application to qualitative interviews The critical incident approach can also be used with a qualitative interview. This approach allows the researcher to gain an insight into an event from the perspective of different participants. The data provided by respondents in critical incident research is discursive in nature and can be subjected to a form of narrative analysis by creating a set of analytical categories drawn from the data and created via a form of grounded theory. Narrative analysis is explained and discussed in Chapter 9. By the use of probing and prompting, comparisons can be drawn between the alternative perspectives, motives and intentions of the different respondents who witnessed an incident. This provides a more valid picture of the incident as a form of data triangulation is used within the data analysis.

Triangulation Triangulation involves the replication of the study. There are three forms of triangulation: s Method triangulation in which the research uses a different method of data collection on the same group of respondents. s Data triangulation where the same researcher uses the same method of data collection on a different group of respondents. s Investigator triangulation in which a different researcher uses the same method on the same group of respondents. The underpinning idea is simply that if the results of the repeated study are similar to the results of the initial study, then this suggests that the research is valid. The methodological appendix to Willis (1977) gives a very full account of the process of triangulation he engaged in whilst conducting his influential case study.

Criticisms of the case study approach The standard criticisms of the case study approach are as follows: s 3UBJECTIVITYANDBIASnCASESTUDIESAREOFTENVERYPERSONALACCOUNTSOFEVENTSAND incidents that could be described and understood differently by different researchers. s ,ACKOFRIGOURnCASESTUDIESAREOFTENVERYLONGANDDETAILEDACCOUNTSWITHNOREAL focus and limited analysis. s )NABILITYTOMAKEGENERALISATIONSFROMSINGLECASESnTHECASESTUDYGIVESUSAVERY detailed and interesting account of one case, but it is only one case. The case study does not allow us to make statements about large populations. s &INDINGSAREDISORGANISED

Analysis and interpretation of the case

These points apply to all forms of badly conducted research projects and so, as with all other forms of research, we have to take steps to ensure that our research is seen to be both valid and reliable. Before we go on to discuss the ways in which case study research can indeed be valid and reliable it is worth saying something about generalising research findings to a wider population.

Analysis and interpretation of the case Analysis and interpretation are the processes of making sense of our collected data. Analysis essentially means taking something apart – we take our observations, impressions etc. apart in order to reconstruct them in a way that allows us to create a meaningful explanation of why events unfold in the way they do. There is no particular moment when data analysis begins. The first stage of a case study is to produce a thick description. This is a very full account of where the social actions take place such as buildings, rooms etc. and an account of the individuals who are active participants in the case. The thick description allows readers to make their own interpretation by making a comparison with their own experience of cases that are similar to the case under investigation. If successful, a good thick description will give our research a feeling of face validity; the case study has a valid feel from the point of view of the reader. The thick description in the case that Willis (1977) investigated reminded me of my own school days, so for me the case has a high degree of face validity. In the final analysis you will need to produce some findings from your case study and explain the meaning of your findings to the reader. This involves drawing an inference. The commonsense observation that ‘there’s no smoke without fire’ is a statement that draws the inference that if smoke is observed then it is almost certainly caused by the existence of a fire. Drawing an inference is the process of arriving at a conclusion that is a defensible explanation of the case. Inference is integral to the production of information. In summary, at the end of a research project that makes use of a case study approach you need to be in a position to present your findings in such a way that provides the reader with a description and meaningful explanation of events within the case. In most research projects the researcher collects the data and conducts the data analysis once the data collection is complete. With some case studies and ethnographic studies data analysis and data collection take place at the same time. There is no one rule that states you must complete the data collection before the data analysis can begin. Very often whilst conducting a case study the researcher may be given information verbally by respondents in an informal manner; these verbal exchanges can be included in your research. But how do you incorporate them in your data analysis? Fleming et al. (2003) suggest four key steps for conducting data analysis within a case study that uses verbal exchanges or narrative (people’s spoken words) as its data source:

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1. The purpose of the analysis is to understand the narrative as a whole therefore we should examine the text of what people say in order to find an expression that reflects the fundamental meaning of the narrative as a whole. 2. Each sentence should be scrutinised to identify its central meaning: this allows the researcher to identify themes. 3. Each sentence is related to the meaning of the whole narrative, providing a comprehensive understanding of the whole narrative. 4. Finally the researcher needs to identify passages that are representative of the narrative, where there appears to be a common understanding between the researcher and the participants. These passages are used in the final research report, to give the reader a clear insight into the case.

Correspondence and pattern matching Correspondence and pattern matching are two of the most common forms of data analysis. The approach can be adopted with a wide range of research methods and is not restricted to case studies or ethnographic research but there are several points to keep in mind. With any set of findings there will usually be an oversupply of possible explanations as to why people behave as they do within the case. The most common technique used for drawing an inference in social research is to classify observations or data into categories that we can use to comment on the meaning of the data collected. One possible approach to data analysis with a case study is known as pattern matching in which data from the case is related to theoretical positions identified in the literature review. As researchers we need to produce information that discriminates or specifically allows us to differentiate the kinds and quantities of ‘things’. We allocate the things that we observe into a given category until we can say something meaningful about our observations as a ‘class’. Whilst we categorise our observations we make tallies and engage in imaginative or intuitive aggregation of the data in an effort to construct an explanation. This approach to explanation building may be regarded by some as subjective – but for many researchers there is no better way to make sense of the complexities of the case. Pattern matching takes the form of an index or gap approach to data collection and data analysis. To describe this form of data analysis as an index or gap approach is simply to suggest that on the basis of your literature review, you should have an understanding of what your findings should look like. This understanding of what your findings should look like is based upon assumptions you have made from your reading of other people’s research in the area. If we think about our assumptions of the expected findings as a list of points, or an index, then we need to look for similarities and/or differences between what we expected to find and what we really did find. The differences or gaps between what we expected to find and what we really did find need to be explained.

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Pattern matching 1 In their analysis of culture in ‘failing’ schools, Nicolaidou and Ainscow (2005) quote a member of staff as saying: ‘“they” are pushing new ideas down our throat’. This observation is then placed in a context and supported by reference to other research in the area from Reynolds (1991) to support the inference made: ‘In this context, “they” tended to refer to either the LEA or the head teacher, and may have provided a basis for avoiding change. The rejection and denial of the decision, and the re-directing of blame, was to some degree led by a defensiveness towards the “threatening messages” (Reynolds, 1991: 101) the schools were said to have been receiving from the outside’ (2005: 237).

Thinkpiece It is important to keep in mind that pattern matching is a creative activity in which you have to search for other authors’ work and use it in such a way that it supports the argument that you are developing. Before you read on can you identify any potential faults or flaws in the process of pattern matching?

Although it may appear as a rather circular argument, the logic of pattern matching is that we compare a predicted pattern of outcomes of our findings on the basis of our literature review. A predicted pattern of findings is derived from our literature review and the pattern is then used as a benchmark to compare what have found in the field with what we expected to find from our reading of the literature in the area. If our findings reflect what we expected to find, this suggests that our research is valid. If we find something we did not expect to find and we are happy that our review of the literature is complete and that our methods of data collection are reliable, then we may have found something that other researchers have not seen before. In other words, potentially we have made a new contribution to knowledge.

Pattern matching 2 Pattern matching ‘involves a correspondence between a theoretical or conceptual expectation pattern and an observed or measured pattern’ (Trochim 1985: 576). Pattern matching is often used to measure ‘construct validity’ – the degree to which observations reflect theory: ‘if within-case observations are repeatedly consistent with a cross-case finding, researchers have stronger grounds for believing the cross-case finding is valid’ (Rueschemeyer cited in Mahoney 2003: 361).

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Avoiding errors and using verification procedures This process can however, be prone to errors so as researchers we need to take steps to do what we can to limit the error effects as errors damage the validity of our findings. If the people reading our work can identify errors in our work this questions the strength of our argument. The main errors are either: s Random errors – these are errors that are not systematic and not predictable, such as a category error where we wrongly place one observation into the wrong category or simply misunderstand something that we see or hear. s Non-random errors – these included such things as personal or political biases that shape or influence our decision making about the data we have collected, most notably a researcher’s perspective that is used to decide the set of categories in the first instance and to allocate observations to a given category. Creswell (1998) identified eight verification procedures for enhancing the validity and reliability of research findings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

prolonged engagement and persistent observation, triangulation, peer review, negative case analysis, clarifying researcher bias, member checking, thick and rich description, external audit.

Creswell suggests that ‘qualitative researchers engage in at least two of them in any given study’ (1998: 203).

Prolonged engagement and persistent observation Ideally with case study research the researcher should have a long engagement with the case. If possible a case study should take place over several years, as in the case of Foote Whyte’s case study of Cornerville that we met earlier in this chapter. This long engagement with the case provides opportunities for the researcher to make certain that they are not engaged in any misinterpretation. Although there is also the possibility of the researcher going native (i.e. when the researcher loses their identity as a researcher and becomes a participant in the case). Research projects where this happens tend not to get published, but Lurie provides a very well informed fictional account in her novel Imaginary Friends (see Chapter 7).

Avoiding errors and using verification procedures

Triangulation This is an approach that involves the replication of the study in order to enhance the validity and reliability of a research project.

Peer review This approach is where the researcher employs a qualified critical friend. This role is usually taken by a colleague whose role is to ask: ‘hard questions about methods, meanings, and interpretations’ (Creswell, 1998: 202). The process of peer review, if done well, will involve independent scrutiny by our critical friend and this should identify issues and problems that we have overlooked.

Negative case analysis In most research projects there will be small amount of information from a minority of respondents that does not support our argument. These data are often disregarded by researchers as deviant data. Negative case analysis is an investigation into this deviant data to see why people have responded in a fashion that is different from the majority of respondents and what significance, if any, the minority view has for the overall findings of the research project. Potentially negative case analysis can enhance our data analysis by giving us a much fuller account of why people respond in the way that they do. This approach demands that the researcher questions the central assumptions of the research in order to reconsider and/or re-define the central question of hypothesis.

Clarifying researcher bias All of the above techniques are more effective if the researcher keeps a log or journal as this can provide opportunities to check for and address researcher bias. A research log is, in essence, a diary that encourages researchers to reflect on their processes of data collection and data analysis. It is important to be honest in the process of data collection and data analysis in order to avoid or resolve ethical issues, and to be aware of bias in the way in which you select data and/or make sense of the findings. All of these issues can damage the validity and reliability of your research project.

Member checking Respondents should be asked about their views in relation to the data analysis, the researcher’s interpretation of events and the conclusions reached. This approach was adopted by Willis (1977) in his influential study Learning to Labour, in which the

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12 ‘lads’ who were the focus of the study were asked for their views about the research before the findings were made public. If respondents disagree with your interpretation presented in your research report then this raises important ethical issues. You either have to abandon the research project, or revise your findings so that they more fully reflect the views of the respondents. Alternatively, you have to include in your discussion of the findings the fact that the respondents do not fully accept the conclusions reached and attempt to explain why your account is more valid and more reliable than that of the respondents themselves. This may appear to be a very patronising stance to take but it is often the case that the researcher can adopt a more objective and balanced approach to the issues under investigation.

Thick and rich description In many case studies with a distinct ethnographic feel, authors often open their research report with a thick or rich description. This is a very full account of where the research was conducted, the respondents and the behaviour that was observed. The purpose of this description is to enhance the face validity of the research project by allowing the reader to draw comparisons between the findings of the research and their own personal experience.

External audit This is most commonly found in publicly funded pieces of evaluation research. Government departments review the research projects that they have commissioned in order to a make a judgement as to the quality of the findings and whether the project has delivered value for money.

Conclusion The purpose of the case study is to gather a great deal of information about the case. This means that a case study can be a study of a geographical location, an in-depth investigation of a decision, a personal history or even a television documentary. Within the case study, multiple methods of data collection are used because multiple sources of evidence are often employed. However, traditionally case studies have been associated with qualitative methods of data collection and within this approach grounded theory has become one of the most important techniques for explanation building. The standard criticisms of the case study approach are that it tends to be subjective or biased, lacks rigour in terms of the case study design, the findings cannot be used to make generalisations about large populations, and the findings can be disorganised. In this chapter we have looked at a range of approaches to enhance the validity and reliability of your case studies.

Conclusion

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica conduct a case study? Erica made a list of zoos in the UK: London Zoo Bristol Zoo Paignton Zoo Newquay Zoo Chester Zoo Colchester Zoo Twycross Zoo Edinburgh Zoo Belfast Zoo Marwell Zoo Dudley Zoo Welsh Mountain Zoo Blackpool Zoo Blackbrook Zoo Hammerton Zoo Anglesey Sea Zoo Battersea Park Childrens Zoo Dartmoor Zoo Linton Zoo Whipsnade Zoo She did not realise how many zoos there were in the UK and she has some doubts as to whether it’s possible to survey all the zoos. She is also confused over the difference between ‘wildlife park’ and ‘zoo’. Given that she has a deadline to meet and limited resources Erica decides that it is too expensive and time consuming to visit every zoo in the UK so decides to conduct a case study of her local zoo. Her case study is going to be an instrumental case study in which she would read through the policy documents that outline the legal obligations in relation to zoos’ responsibility to provide visitors with education and information on biodiversity and sustainability. Erica still likes the idea of conducting interviews in the form of a quiz to be conducted with volunteer respondents as they left the zoo. She is still of the opinion that the quiz will provide her with factual information on the knowledge that visitors have about biodiversity and sustainability.

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Bibliography Alexander, J. (1998) Neofunctionalism and After, Oxford: Blackwell. Allison, G.T. (1971) Essence of decision: explaining the Cuban missile crisis, Boston: Little, Brown. Angelides, P. and Ainscow, M. (2000) ‘Making sense of the role of culture in school’, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 11(2): 145–63. Archer, M. (1995) Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Becker, H. (1962) Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, New York: The Free Press. Bernstein, B. and Woodward, C. (1974) All the President’s Men, New York: Simon and Schuster. Borgen, W.A., Hatch, W.E. and Amundson, N.E. (1990) ‘The Experience of Unemployment for University Graduates: An Exploratory Study’, Journal of Employment Counseling, 27(3): 104–12. Bourdieu, P. and Wacquant, L. (1992) An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press. Brookfield, S. (1995) Becoming a critically reflective teacher, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cohen, I.J. (1989) Structuration Theory: Anthony Giddens and the Constitution of Social Life, London: Macmillan. Creswell, J.W. (1998) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. DiSalvo, V.S., Nikkel, E. and Monroe, C. (1989) ‘Theory and Practice: A Field Investigation and Identification of Group Members’ Perceptions of Problems Facing Natural Work Groups’, Small Group Behavior, 20(4): 551–67. Ellinger, A.D. and Bostrom, R.P. (2002) ‘An Examination of Managers’ Beliefs about their Roles as Facilitators of Learning’, Management Learning, 33(2): 147–79. Flanagan, J.C. (1954) ‘The Critical Incident Technique’, Psychological Bulletin, 51(4): 327–58. Flanagan, J.C. and Fred W.C. (1959) ‘The critical incident approach to the study of psychopathology’, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 15: 136–9. Fleming V., Robb Y. and Gaidys U. (2003) ‘Hermeneutic research in nursing: developing a Gadamerian based research method’, Nursing Inquiry, 10: 113–20. Fook, J. and Napier, L. (2000) ‘From dilemma to breakthrough: Retheorising social work practice’ in J. Fook and L. Napier (eds) Breakthroughs in Practice: Social Workers Theorise Critical Moments in Practice, London: Whiting and Birch. Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Cambridge: Polity Press. Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research, New York: Aldine-Atherton. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B.B. (1959) The motivation to work, New York: Wiley.

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Lurie, A. (1967) Imaginary Friends, London: Minerva. Mahoney, J. (2003) ‘Qualitative Methodology and Comparative Politics’, Comparative Political Studies, 40(2): 122–44. McLeod, J. (1994). Doing counselling research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964) The Primacy of Perception, Northwestern University Press: Evanston. Nicolaidou, M. and Ainscow, M. (2005) ‘Understanding failing schools: perspectives from the inside’, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 16(3): 229–78. Reynolds, D. (1991) ‘Changing Ineffective Schools’ in M. Ainscow (ed.) Effective Schools for All, London: David Fulton. Sayer, A. (1984) Method in Social Science: A Realist Approach. London: Hutchinson. Sayer, A. (2000) Realism and Social Science. London: Sage. Sikes, P., Measor, L. and Woods, P. (1985) Teacher careers: Crises and continuities, London: Falmer. Stake, R. (1995) The art of case study research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Trochim, W. (1985) ‘Pattern Matching, Validity, and Conceptualization in Program Evaluation’, Evaluation Review, 9: 575–604. Willis, P. (1977) Learning to Labour, Farnborough: Saxon House. Yin, R. (1989) Case Study Research, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

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Introduction Ethnography is an approach to social research that usually has a focus on studying small groups of people in their natural setting in order to gain a fuller and clearer understanding of the meanings of their actions. This chapter will outline and evaluate the ethnographic approach. Ethnography is built upon an intimate first-hand observation and understanding of the research setting. However, one of the key problems for any ethnographer is gaining access to the group they wish to study. There is much more to access than meeting people face-to-face, we need to gain access to their subjective perceptions of the world. Entering any field setting is never easy and one can never guarantee that you have become accepted. For this reason some researchers have decided to engage in covert research, often using participant observation lasting several years. There are clear benefits to being at close quarters with familiar informants but you must keep in mind that ethnography is an intensely personal research process. It involves close human contact in which the researcher can gather first-hand information directly from the

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respondent about their human meaning systems. As such there are ethical issues about trust as well as methodological issues about validity and reliability that affect ethnography to a much greater degree than other methodological approaches. For the ethnographer, social action is any action that has an intention behind it and understanding the intentionality of respondents is central to the ethnographic approach. Although ethnography can be conducted in a rich variety of settings it is always concerned with understanding the meaning of social action; in particular understanding the motives and intentions of people within a given situation. We present ourselves in everyday life by performing roles. For Goffman (1959) people have two aspects of self, an official self that we present to the outside world when we perform a role and an inner self that is the real person behind the role performance. It is not uncommon for ethnographers to assume that people are social actors who perform roles within the social world in a similar fashion to actors on the stage or screen. Following the work of Goffman in the 1960s this approach to understanding the performance of a role within a situation has become known as dramaturgical work. The ethnographer assumes that the performance of a role by any social actor, including their motives and intentions, can be understood or read in the similar way to the motives and intentions of actors on the stage or screen. Goffman suggests that as researchers we should treat the social actions we observe as anthropologically strange. This is an approach in which the ethnographer simply treats the research setting, including the people and their behaviour, as if they are observing them for the very first time. This sounds very abstract so let us look at an example of ethnographic research.

Ethnographic research Atkinson (2004) conducted an ethnographic research project into the Welsh National Opera (WNO). Atkinson’s guiding theme of the research was to look at the dramaturgical work of the singers and other people who made the opera work. Atkinson’s ethnography involved ‘close and detailed observation of a series of opera productions in the rehearsal studio and in the theatre, with particular emphasis on the everyday work of the opera producer’ (2004: 148). He was interested in what he described as ‘the mundane work of producing and reproducing the opera’ (Ibid.). Atkinson argued that the producer of an opera needs to have an embodied charismatic authority and their conception of what form the opera will take gives the performers a clear understanding of how to perform in their roles, but there is still an amount of detailed negotiation during the rehearsal period: ‘The actions of the performers are frequently “directed” through two mechanisms: vocabularies of motive, and significant gestures’ (2004: 152). These practical actions are interpreted by the participants and form a socially shared frame of reference that help them make sense of the situation. The role of the producer is to transform a set of conceptual ideas into practical, embodied

Ethical issues and trust

action on the stage by demonstrating the gestures, gaze and movement required from the performers: ‘Consequently, the director is engaged in a recurrent process of attributing motives to characters, suggesting intentions to the performers and searching for analogies whereby to help create the characters and actions’ (Atkinson 2004: 154). One of the problems with ethnographic research, argues Atkinson, is that: ‘When social processes are massively familiar, it can be hard to achieve a productive degree of intellectual distance and so render them anthroplogically strange. Intellectual insight and originality is likely to come from making the familiar strange and the strange familiar, and hence, from a widened perspective on the possible range of research sites and topics that illuminate . . . practices’ (2004: 148–9). Why would the ethnographer attempt to render something anthropologically strange? As we have suggested to render something anthropologically strange simply means that the ethnographer treats a research setting, including the people observed and their behaviour, as if they are observing them for the very first time. This allows ethnographers to view practices that are sometimes very familiar to the researcher in a more objective manner. This approach has other names such as making strange the world of lived experience and is a common approach that ethnographers use to make their work have a more objective feel.

Ethical issues and trust A number of ethnographers such as Humphreys (1970) believe that more objective and better quality data can be collected if the researchers do not inform the respondents that they are collecting data about their activities. However, most of the literature in the field is opposed to ‘concealment’; the practice of being a covert participant observer whose aims are unknown to the respondents is believed to be unethical. In contrast, a number of ethnographers such as Davies (1963), Erikson (1965), Gold (1958), Shaffir and Stebbins (1991) argue that the distinction between covert and overt research is misguided as: ‘deceptive practices are as inherent in field research as they are in daily life’ (Shaffir and Stebbins 1991: 29). One of the ethical concerns with ethnography is the issue of trust. This is especially the case when the people we are researching are well known to us, for example if we choose to conduct research on our colleagues at work. In Chapter 1 we discussed action research and a related approach known as practitioner research. These approaches to research are closely related to ethnography in that they draw upon action and reflection. In action research, teacher researchers often reflect directly on their own teaching

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situation and experience; such research begins and builds on teacher knowledge and it has a clear focus on classroom issues. Action research builds on the normal process of evaluation, bridging the gap between the practitioner and the researcher. Such research can sharpen the practitioner’s critical awareness. With action research in an educational context, for example, teachers often conduct research projects in their own school or college, in their own practice setting with their colleagues and pupils, but does this raise the problem of a potential betrayal of trust? In terms of producing a valid and reliable account, for the ethnographer it is easier to recognise and interpret the behaviour, rituals, practices etc. of people with whom one has already established a high degree of trust. All ethnography involves the generation of trust between the researcher and the group under investigation. There has to be familiarity and mutual personal knowledge. The most difficult aspect of the ethnographic approach is successfully achieving a shared subjectivity, looking at the world through the eyes of the respondents, empathy etc. These qualities are much more likely to be achieved with people that we know.

Verstehen Verstehen is a technique that helps the researcher to gain access to the perceptions, motivations and thoughts of the people they are investigating. People commonly share discourses about themselves – this form of self-talk is made up of verbal indicators about their own distinct identity – and such discourse can be seen as identifying practices. People who share a common culture can read these indicators of the self and gain an understanding of the person’s motives and intentions. At a practical level verstehen involves the researcher putting themselves in the position of the people they are observing and attempting to look at the world through their eyes in an effort to more fully appreciate their perspective of the world. Goffman (1962) conducted an influential study of a ward in a mental hospital. In this study Goffman suggested that the behaviours of patients were often rational responses to the irrational situation they found themselves in. Patients often engaged in hoarding behaviour, where they would keep hold of their personal possessions such as food, tissues etc. Outside of the mental hospital this behaviour would be regarded as abnormal but because the patients did not have a secure place to keep these things it was rational to keep them on their person at all times. The ethnographer often has to put themselves in the position of the other to understand their behaviour and verstehen is based upon the assumption that it is possible for the researcher to put themselves into the respondent’s social and cultural context in order to reconstruct or ‘re-experience’ the world as the respondents do in an attempt to understand the underpinning rationale behind their thoughts, feelings and motivation in an effort to understand their behaviour.

Verstehen

Levels of understanding For Weber (1922) there are two levels of understanding in the process of verstehen. Firstly there is what Weber calls adequacy at the level of meaning, which involves providing a very full description of the actions and behaviours the researcher has observed. From this the researcher moves on to the second level of understanding, which Weber refers to as causal adequacy, in which as researchers we draw an inference as to why the people observed are behaving in the way that they do. Abel (1948) explains that this approach to verstehen, involves the internalising of behaviour we observe in a given situation and then attempting to categorise that observed behaviour. It also involves the application of a behavioural maxim that allows the observer to make a connection with other things they have personally experienced. The behavioural maxims are created by reflecting upon our personal experiences and making generalisations. Underpinning this is the idea of an emotional syllogism, the idea that other people’s emotions function in the same way as our own. For Abel, verstehen is useful for developing an interpretation of a context of where the research takes place but it is not an experimental technique and as such it cannot generate data to validate a given theory or hypothesis.

Hermeneutics Verstehen is used to say something about the meaning of behaviour that we can directly observe. The ethnographer finds meaning by identifying a cultural pattern through a process of interpretation of the socio-cultural phenomena observed. Within the social sciences this approach is known as hermeneutics. However, this approach raises an important question: how do we perceive the personal and subjective meaning and intentions behind an observed social action? For Munch there exists: ‘A whole series of inferences and imputations . . . involved in this process’ (1957: 26), including inference by analogy, probability and ‘the percepts obtained from immediate sensation of data are complemented by percepts obtained from previous experience of similar data. This is not only a legitimate procedure in empirical science but a necessary condition for the establishment of any scientific generalization’ (1957: 30, italics in the original). The advice that Munch is giving the researcher is that people’s behaviour is often a reflection not only of their personal and subjective meaning but also a reflection of the social and cultural situation in which they find themselves. By comparing people’s behaviours in similar circumstances and making use of other similar research in the field the researchers are investigating it should be possible to differentiate between intentional behaviours that have their origin in personal belief and motivation and behaviours that are a reflection of the contextual pressures brought to bear on an individual in a given circumstance.

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Empathy and shared feeling Lipps’s Grundlegung der Ästhetik (1903) developed what Harrington (2001) refers to as a ‘naive empathy theory of understanding’. Lipps discusses the feelings that we have when we observe an acrobat on a tight-rope, we relive the experience of the acrobat in a sense that is real for us. This ability to put ourselves in the position of the other is central to understanding art and literature as well as understanding the behaviour of others. For Weber, however, such feelings are not objective knowledge as they do not give us access to the thoughts and feelings of the acrobat and we are not on the tight-rope. However, is it possible to read a person’s inner feeling state or a person’s motivations from their outward expressions such as facial expressions and body language? Ethnographers often assume that through a process of ‘thick description’ or very full description, and without taking any moral stance on what they observe, we as researchers can understand things about an individual’s inner feeling states from our reading of outward signs, such as body language and facial expression. Outward signs are meaningful in that they mean something to the observer in that they allow the observer to grasp their inner meaning. Scheler (1912) in his book The Nature of Sympathy describes this process of drawing an inference about an individual’s inner feeling states from our reading of outward signs as nacherleben, and it is used by poets and novelists to create a shared feeling or ethical agreement about the quality of the experience but without generating feelings of sympathy for the people described. This occurs in the same way that we understand a unique sentence spoken by a stranger by reference to linguistic codes, grammatical rules and shared vocabulary in order to make sense of what we hear. We make a comparison between our own life experiences, social conventions, social rules and the experiences observed in order to draw the appropriate inference. A number of theories of the comic take their starting point from the assumption derived from Lipps, that the psychological mechanisms of laughter are rooted in unexpectedness. People do or say things in a way that is contrary to the accepted way of responding.

Social action Social action, that is action that has an intention behind it, is shaped by how individual people interpret or understand other people in terms of the social situation they find themselves in. To adequately interpret or understand other people in terms of the social situation in which they find themselves the researcher needs a conceptual framework that is adequate enough to allow an interpretation of the significance of what is happening within a situation. The process of socialisation involves the ongoing processes in which people assimilate the culture of a wider community, and a central aspect of this process is learning to comprehend the common stock of ideas in order to understand the projected actions of ourselves and others. As Cooper explains:

Tertiary understanding

‘Those who do not have a mastery of the shared normative concepts and common stories will be culturally impoverished and will not understand the point of the stories which are told, in much the same way that an ignorant or dull-witted person may not see the point of a joke’ (2000: 388). The argument here is that because the researcher has gone through a process of socialisation in which they have come to develop an understanding of the culture then this gives them the conceptual framework and abilities that allow them to read the meaning of people’s behaviour. There is a connection between social actions that are individually chosen on the basis of highly personal motivational factors and practice which we recognise because we make sense of it by drawing upon a wider frame of reference. To some extent we are all products of the culture in which we are socialised; we are brought up to recognise certain behaviours as meaning certain things in a given context. This allows us to categorise behaviour or place a unique social action that we observe into a commonly shared cultural frame of reference in order to understand it. Some researchers make a distinction between erklären (explanation) and verstehen (understanding). This means that researchers not only describe actions but also look for clues to decide on the ‘content’ of the action. Researchers do this by attempting to discriminate between certain kinds of action. For example, if the action was an intentional action (i.e. any action that has an intention behind it; so if I trip up in the street this is not a social action because I did not intend to do it) and if so what type of intention (such as actions that are underpinned by achieving a goal, by a value, by a strong emotion or by custom or tradition). According to Smelser and Baltes human agents tend to: ‘(1) act in accordance with what they believe and desire, and (2) believe what they have reason to believe to be true, and desire what they have reason to value to identify a phenomenon as an action implies reference to the contentful mental states (beliefs and desires) of the agent. These states must, according to the principles of behavioural and attitudinal rationality, be roughly in tune with the action and with what the agent believes to be true and desirable. This does not, however, commit us to accept that the agent’s interpretation of the action has a privileged authoritativeness. But neither has ours’ (2001: 14–15). Ethnography is based upon the assumption that many of the ways that social action is classified by people cannot be fully understood from outside of the ‘natural’ setting in which the action takes place.

Tertiary understanding For Runciman (1983) good social science descriptions of people’s behaviour should be authentic and give the reader a feel and a flavour of what it is like to be one of the

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people who are being described. Runciman was concerned with moving beyond the two levels of understanding identified by Weber and added a third level, which he calls tertiary understanding. The aim of tertiary understanding is to provide an understanding of the lives of the people we are investigating as authentically as possible. In order to do this, argues Runciman, we need to adopt the same techniques that poets and novelists use. Authenticity should enhance the reader’s experience. Runciman gives the example of Flaubert’s novel Madam Bovary, which he describes as: ‘a paradigm of descriptive authenticity’ because of Flaubert’s ability to ‘redescribe what the life of a person like Emma Bovary was like better than such a person could describe it to herself ’ (1983: 237). Flaubert was able to achieve this because a real life Emma Bovary would not have an informed knowledge of the wider social forces that shape the circumstances in which she would find herself in. Flaubert had a better knowledge of the period and milieu. Madam Bovary is a work of fiction but people like Emma Bovary do exist in the world. Flaubert guides the reader through Emma Bovary’s thinking and decision-making processes. Emma Bovary is a fictional person we have never met because she does not exist, yet because Flaubert gives such a full account of her motives and intentions this allows us to fully grasp why she behaves in the way that she does. By reading Flaubert’s account we have a greater understanding of the real people we investigate in our research projects who behave like Emma Bovary. Literature allows us to develop an understanding and a practical knowledge of things we have not directly experienced. Picasso’s picture Guernica, for example, portrays the horror of the Spanish Civil War in human terms that I can understand but which I have thankfully never experienced at first-hand. Not only does the work have a strong emotional content for me personally but it sheds light on how individuals in general suffer during a violent political conflict such as the Spanish Civil War. Art and literature provide people with the sources of interpretation and elucidation that help us to shed light on our own personal experiences and thought processes. The fictional characters in literature expand the range and variety of our experiences and provide us with a greater understanding of the factors that motivate people in a given set of circumstances. Art and literature appear to enhance our awareness and help to expand our perceptual and interpretative skills by identifying universal aspects of motivation in descriptions of individual social action, deepening our social and moral understanding. The social researchers that Runciman points to as providing examples of good research practice in this area include William Foote-Whyte, Erving Goffman and Oscar Lewis. All three of these authors provide their reader with accounts that include vivid and illuminating details, with effective use of analogy that allows the reader to make a connection between the written account and their own personal experience. Without this detail it would be difficult for the reader to ‘bring to life’ the description given. As Runciman explains: ‘Their success in each case rests on the choice of vivid or illuminating detail which can be related to the appropriate equivalents in “our” culture’ (1983: 263).

Guidelines to ensure authenticity

Descriptive inference calls upon the imagination of the researcher to make use of metaphor and simile to give the reader a clear account of what it was like to be one of the respondents: ‘a sense of what “their” experience was like for them’ (Runciman 1983: 274).

Definitions What is a metaphor? A metaphor is a figure of speech used to compare two things, saying that one is like the other. Richards (1936) was interested in understanding the interpretative process itself, and he identified two aspects of the metaphor: s THETENOR WHICHISTHESUBJECTORTHINGTOWHICHATTRIBUTESAREASCRIBEDAND s THEVEHICLE WHICHISTHESUBJECTORTHINGFROMWHICHATTRIBUTESARETAKEN What is a simile? A simile is also a figure of speech used to compare two things that are unalike, usually with a word such as “like”. Bauman (2000) describes the contemporary world as liquid modernity, by which he means that society does not have a rigid structure and it is more like a liquid in its composition.

Guidelines to ensure authenticity We need to choose people to investigate who are representative of the wider population that we are interested in, including the divergent points of view that might be common amongst the population. For Runciman there are a number of pitfalls that we have to overcome in order to give an authentic ethnographic account of people’s behaviour: 1. Avoid giving incomplete accounts of the people we describe: this means not dismissing something that is peripheral to our research interests but is of great significance to the group. 2. Avoid oversimplification: this arises when researchers do not take into account the complexity of people’s beliefs or practices. 3. Avoid ahistoricity: as researchers we should keep in mind that a set of behaviours and ideas belong to the given period of time and place in which they were described. 4. Avoid suppression: this can arise when a researcher chooses not to include something in a description because it may damage their preferred image of the people under investigation. 5. Avoid exaggeration: this involves placing a greater emphasis on one aspect of the description than it deserves.

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6. Avoid ethnocentricity: this involves imposing our own ideas from our own culture, background or milieu on to what we observe at the expense of the respondents’ opinions and beliefs. 7. Avoid derogation: which involves the pejorative description of a person or group. 8. Avoid hagiography: or too favourable an impression of the person or group described. A difficult problem for the ethnographer to overcome is the interface between the researcher’s own values and prejudices and those of the respondents. This requires the uncovering of meaning. One of the central skills of an ethnographer is the interpretation and understanding of the respondent’s frame of reference, intentions and motivations. To successfully achieve this ‘mutuality of understanding’ the researcher needs to have a full understanding of the context in which the behaviour is taking place. If you are a person who shared the context in which the behaviour was taking place, your subjective meanings and the subjective meaning of the respondents should have a degree of commonality about them. The process of developing a ‘mutuality of understanding’ can be started before the data collection gets under way. The researcher can develop some understanding of the concepts, beliefs and values that inform the practices of the respondents by reading other ethnographic accounts. This should not prevent your research from allowing you to formulate your own subjective feeling about what is happening in the field, but it raises the issue of the imposition problem: imposing an established social science idea or perspective onto the behaviour you are directly observing. In much ethnographic research the researcher steps back from influencing the behaviour of the respondents/participants in order to gain a more valid picture of the actions of the people under investigation. However, many researchers choose ethnography because they want to break down the distinction between the ‘observer’ and the ‘observed’ and allow the research process to become a co-operative or collaborative enterprise. Some ethnographers view traditional objective research as an exploitative monologue, in which the respondents give information to the researchers and get nothing back in return. In contrast ethnography gives a privileged place to the ‘discourse’ of the respondents – in this case meaning ‘the other as us’ – in the generation of research findings.

Learning the ropes The ethnographer has to achieve an understanding of how the respondents comprehend their world. This was given the term ‘intimate familiarity’ by Lofland (1976). One of the central elements of this comprehension is ‘learning the ropes’, outlined by Shaffir and Stebbins (1991) in the following way: s lELDRESEARCHREQUIRESANUNDERSTANDINGOFTHEINTERPRETATIVEPROCESSTHATSHAPESAND guides human behaviour;

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s lELDRESEARCHERSHAVETOTHINKUSINGTHESYMBOLSOFTHERESPONDENTS s DATACOLLECTIONISDONEWITHSENSITIVITYTOTHELOCALCULTURE Most importantly claim Shaffir and Stebbins: ‘Researchers who show a respect for those studied and a willingness to consider their views and claims seriously discover that others are prepared to teach them the ropes’ (1991: 86). All of this is very time consuming, however, as Fetterman (1989) points out: ‘The longer an individual stays in a community, building rapport, and the deeper they probe into individual lives, the greater the probability of his or her learning about the sacred subtle elements of the culture: how people pray, how they feel about each other, and how they reinforce their own cultural practices to maintain the integrity of their system’ (1989: 27). Ethnography involves drawing upon the interpersonal skills of the researcher. The longer the researcher can stay in the field, observing and interacting with people, the more competent the researcher will become at reading the culture of the respondents.

Marginality The longer a researcher stays in the field and the more the researcher interacts with the respondents the more influence their presence can have on respondents’ behaviour, ideas and actions. What the ethnographer wants to avoid is respondents’ behaviour becoming an ‘artefact’, product or outcome of the research process, with people behaving in the way that they do because they are part of a research project. Marginality is a technique that ethnographers use to position themselves within the field in such a way that they can observe and collect data but without significantly influencing people to behave in ways that they would not have done if the researcher was not present. Hammersley and Atkinson (1983) argue that marginality in both perspective and in the social position of the researcher can help to enhance the naturalistic feel of the research. Most justifications for the ethnographic approach stress the benefit of marginality in research and suggest that there are benefits to interacting on a friendly basis with the ‘respondents’, as dialogue with them will generate research findings. The central question is: how is it possible to reconcile the two? How can the researcher be both ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ at the same time? This raises another important methodological issue that the ethnographer has to overcome. Interviews are a very useful research tool. However, interviewing people without their knowledge or consent, within the context of a covert participant observation,

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raises both ethical and practical issues. One view is that people will not respond to a series of questions about key aspects of their natural setting. People might regard such questioning as odd and would either not respond to the questions, or not provide answers that reflect their true thoughts or feelings. The researcher needs to think about the role they are going to play in the field: how they are going to present themselves to the respondents in order to allow the respondents to feel comfortable and provide the information required to fulfil the aims of the research project? This is commonly known by ethnographers as the ethnographic presence.

Developing an ethnographic presence Within an ethnographic research project the ethnographic presence the researcher adopts or the stance they are going to take whilst doing the research, will help them develop what Hammersley and Atkinson (1983) call a ‘creative insight’ – some researchers simultaneously adopt the role of insider and outsider: ‘intellectually poised between “familiarity” and “strangeness”, while socially he or she is poised between “stranger” and “friend”’ (1983: 100). Many ethnographers, such as Hammersley and Atkinson have argued that it is not possible to eliminate the effects of the researcher from the data, because we are part of the world that we study.

Going native All research methodology textbooks contain a section on ethnographers ‘going native’. This describes a situation in which the ethnographic researcher becomes so involved in the lives of the people whom they are investigating that they forget about their role as active researchers. Going native is almost universally regarded as a bad thing because by becoming so closely associated with the people under investigation the ‘researcher’ not only loses their role as researcher–observer but their account of what is happening in the field becomes no different from that of the other respondents. In contrast, however, it is possible to develop the argument that failure to gain access to the group is also a serious methodological issue. Researchers who ‘go native’ become at one with the personal cultures of the people they are investigating, their motives and intentions. By going native, knowing one’s self and exploring one’s own thoughts, this is like exploring the motives and intentions of the group. The ethnographer has to have a sound grasp of the language or discourse of the group in order to understand their behaviour.

Discourse

Imaginary Friends: the problem of ‘going native’ It is very difficult to identify a research project in which the researcher has gone native, because such projects tend not to be published. However, Alison Lurie (1967) has written a very entertaining and well informed fictional account of a covert participant observation of a small group known as the Truth Seekers who live in the small town of Sophis in upstate New York. Tom McMann and Roger Zimmerman join the Truth Seekers in order to investigate the dynamics of the group. Verena, the leader of the group, is believed to be in contact with Ro from the distant planet of Varna and receives messages that she scribbles on paper and then outlines their significance for the group members. The Varnians are much more advanced than the people of Earth and have evolved beyond physical bodies. The novel outlines the issues of research ethics, especially when the researchers are identified by one of the group members as academics. The novel also explores the level of involvement in the decisions of the group that the researchers should involve themselves in and the relationship of trust with group members. McMann encourages Verena to identify a date when the Varnians will visit Earth and give salvation to the Truth Seekers. On the evening of the expected arrival Verena receives a message from Ro of Varna explaining that he will transfer into the body of the most intelligent member of the group, who is identified as Tom McMann. McMann accepts the role, becomes a true believer and goes native. Alison Lurie traces the transition from McMann’s initial clear and objective research strategy to becoming the leader of the group, the physical vessel that holds the spirit of Ro in a very convincing manner. Although this is a fictional account of the process of going native it demonstrates that the ethnographer’s ethnographic presence can become so appealing to the respondents that the researcher becomes central to the activities of the group under investigation.

Discourse Discourse is the way in which people speak and think about aspects of the social world that they are concerned with. It contains the organising principles that people are socialised into over a period of time and which they use in their everyday lives to make sense of the world around them. Although he never engaged in any ethnographic research, Foucault was highly influential in developing an approach to discourse that many ethnographers make use of. Foucault argued that discourses do not simply reflect social reality but shape and maintain prevailing perceptions of reality and dominant viewpoints. When looking at any ‘discursive formation’ Foucault would attempt a

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genealogical investigation into why, at a particular point in time, one set of sentences about a particular topic is more likely to occur. Moreover, people are positioned as ‘subjects’ within a discursive practice; as such discourse can also shape the identity and a person’s sense of self. This approach to discourse analysis was further developed by Fairclough (1992), in order to identify the discursive strategies used by a group in its attempt to have its version of reality produced and reproduced within the group. Fairclough developed the approach of a framework of discourse that could be analysed by the use of several interlocking concepts: s Themes: discourse themes, also including assumptions that underlie the choice of theme. s Presuppositions: information treated as given or implicit in the text or spoken word. s Interdiscursivity and intertextual relations: relations between other texts to form an intertextual chain by the formation of links with other discursive formations. s Modality: the degree of certainty that a speaker/writer has about the truth content of the discourse and the generality of the discursive formation. As Morrish explains: ‘Modality within an utterance can be revealed by a number of devices in the text, e.g., tense (present tense suggesting universal validity), plurality (plurals suggest generalization about a category), negation, and adverbial choice’ (1997: 336). Morrish quotes Hodge and Kress (1993) who argue that modalities are used to protect utterances from criticism. s Transitivity: the understanding that the speaker/writer has about who or what is responsible for bringing about any given situation within the discursive formation. s Lexical choice: the categories that a speaker/writer makes use of within a discursive formation. If the ethnographer is to understand fully the meanings of the interactions they observe they must have a grasp of the way in which people think about those aspects of the social world that the ethnographer is investigating. Coming to terms with and understanding the discourse of the people the ethnographer is investigating will give the ethnographer insight into the organising principles that people draw upon in their everyday lives to make sense of the world around them.

Practice – the unit of analysis The unit of analysis for any ethnographic study is the practice of the people we are investigating. The ethnographer is interested in what people do and why they do it. This will almost certainly involve exploring their sense of self and how they conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis. For the ethnographer there is a need to give a much

Practice – the unit of analysis

greater emphasis to the notion of ‘practice’, moving away from sterile debates about agency and structure and towards an understanding of personal experiencing. But what is practice? My understanding of practice is that it is ‘guided doings’; in other words when people carry out a social action they do so by drawing upon a set of existing ideas and beliefs that guide their choice of social action. We are still free to choose any action that we wish in any circumstances, but if we want to avoid behaving in a way that is considered by others as inappropriate we need to be guided in our actions. Ask yourself: what do you understand by the term medical practice? What do you understand by the term football practice? The term ‘practice’ in both examples suggests that the person’s social action is guided by a body of ideas, skills and knowledge. If we can understand the underpinning body of ideas, skills and knowledge that guide a person’s practice this will give us a great insight into understanding their social actions.

Practice A number of authors have explored the notion of practice in detail. For example: ‘A practice may be identified as a set of considerations, manners, uses, observances, customs, standards, canon’s maxims, principles, rules, and offices specifying useful procedures or denoting obligations or duties which relate to human actions and utterances. It is a prudential or a moral adverbial qualification of choices and performances, more or less complicated, in which conduct is understood in terms of a procedure’ (Oakeshott 1975: 55).

Human behaviour is at the same time both constrained and constraining. Moreover, it is human behaviour that is the cause of both the constrained and constraining nature of human behaviour itself. Constraining the behaviour of others is a practice, and living your life, as a constrained person, is a practice. Our lives are constituted by practice, and it is practice that ethnographers spend their time investigating. For the ethnographer, mind, action and the body are socially established. Our identity and our sense of self are formed through the practices we are involved in. Individuals define themselves in relation to others; their reactions to our behaviour, sentiments and opinions that they impose upon us, and on how we come to terms with the conditions of our life. Practice is the platform and material for this social construction. What makes structures appear to be factual entities, which have a life that is independent of the people who constitute them, is the energisation that people bring to their dispersed practices. For example the practice of ordering, describing and following rules, convincing others that rules, routines and principles should be followed.

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Notions of practice Three notions of practice can be identified: 1. Learning how to do an activity and improving upon it – this implies ‘understanding’ that a practice can also be improved. Understanding involves a range of cognitive activities: describing and questioning; the ability to identify a practice in our own behaviour and in the behaviour of others; the ability to provoke and respond to a practice in a way we judge to be appropriate. 2. Following rules, conventions and instructions – again the ability to identify rules and routines is itself a practice that can be improved. 3. Making things happen, identifying goals and the resources needed to achieve those goals.

The definition of the situation For the ethnographer the social structure of any group is created by the group members themselves. The way in which people within a group define the situation they are in comes to form a set of informal but tangible rule-like structures that ethnographers refer to as the definition of the situation. The situated activity of people, what they do on a day-to-day basis in their everyday lives, is constructed out of practices. In ethnographic research practice is the stuff that structures are made of. Practice is not habitual action, although it may become routine. Practices are reciprocal within any group. Moreover, we make use of practice to explore the unknown. This allows us to be involved in the production of meaning, as we have the ability to draw upon resources that are around us rather than accepting life as it is. What is important for ethnographers is that the practice that we engage ourselves in is only consciously thought about during times of personal transition, in which people ask themselves questions such as: ‘What am I doing?’ or ‘Why do I choose to live my life like this?’ This is the ethnographer’s focus. The issue here can most clearly be seen in relation to gender. Our notion of what constitutes ‘femininity’ and what ‘masculinity’ are socially constructed, but so too are notions of male and female. Such concepts only have currency because people practise their masculinity and their femininity. Moreover, people locate themselves within an ‘appropriate’ masculinity or femininity, I would assume, in terms of how comfortable they feel about it. Such categories should not be used to categorise people; rather such terms should be used to describe activities that people choose to engage themselves in. The categories ‘male’ and ‘female’ can only ever be what people choose to make of them. As social scientists we have a tendency to identify, or invent, a set of categories, such as ‘class’, ‘male’, ‘female’ etc. which we do not adequately define or explain. Then we go out into the world and gather evidence which we arbitrarily fit into the category. However, the justification for the category is never given and never attempted. Schatzki argues that: ‘What a person does on any occasion depends not on practices, but instead on (1) the understanding he has of his situation . . . and (2) the motives

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(“sentiment”) out of which a particular action conducive to the wished-for condition is “chosen” ’ (1997: 96). The problem with this is that both understanding and choosing are practices. Schatzki underestimates the role of practice in human society. For the ethnographer any group of people or social formation is built upon people supporting others who choose to share common practice.

Redefining the concept of ‘site’: ethnography on the internet All of the ethnographic studies we have reviewed in the chapter so far have been traditional, face-to-face contact between a researcher and a group of respondents. However, nowadays a significant amount of our communication is mediated via mobile phone, email, blogs, Twitter and social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace. Traditionally, ethnographers have conducted their research projects within a physical location or site, but many communities now do not interact in a physical space but are virtual, global communities that exist only in cyberspace. In addition, many people have access to digital cameras with internet access and post material often of a very personal nature on both social networking sites and YouTube. Collecting information online has, however, the practical benefit that data such as people’s responses to questions are already transcribed and can be saved as a document. Interestingly, just like traditional face-to-face ethnography, several internet ethnographies are both covert and potentially unethical, have a focus on sex and deviance, and attempt to gain a sympathetic understanding of marginal groups in the population. For example: s 3HARPAND%ARLE COVERTLYINVESTIGATEDOVER@REVIEWSOFSEXWORKERSBY their male clients on a website to discover the perceptions that men had of the women who provided the services they purchased. s -AGNETS  INVESTIGATED THE WEBSITE SUICIDEGIRLSCOM A COMMERCIAL SITE THAT featured nude photographs of heavily tattooed women. The data were collected from online forums and email interviews with customers. s 3LATER INVESTIGATEDTHEONLINEEXCHANGEOF@DIGITALLYENCODEDSEXUALLYEXPLICIT material’ which they refer to as sexpics. The data were collected covertly from chat rooms made up of users who exchanged pornographic photographs and other pornographic computer files between them via the online community. As Murthy explains: ‘respondents generally provided different, sometimes more personal, responses through the internet, compared with face-to-face interviewing and standardized

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questionnaires, confirming Miller and Slater’s (2000: 183) conclusion of the sometimes greater “intimacy” of data collected online’ (2008: 842). However, if the data are collected without the informed consent of the respondents we need to ask ourselves if they should be used. Journalists may use information from Facebook, blogs etc. that they have collected covertly but social researchers have ethical standards that they are expected to adhere to and that also covers data collected online. As Murthy explains, many people who have been investigated by the use of online ethnography are vulnerable or marginalised groups and as researchers we should keep in mind the potential harm our research may cause. However, Murthy argues that social networking sites can be useful to ethnographers in the following ways: ‘1. they are virtual “gatekeepers” with chains of “friends” who are potential research respondents; 2. they contain vast stores of multimedia material regarding even the most marginal social movements or groups; 3. ethnographers can “invisibly” observe the social interactions of page members, gleaning a previously unavailable type of ethnographic data; 4. pages can be created by social researchers with the explicit purpose of conducting research online (e.g. focus groups watch an embedded video and comment on it); 5. the structure of relationships on the sites is a useful research method itself with, as Garton et al. (1999: 78) argue, the content, direction, and strength of the relationship “strands” a fruitful approach; 6. pages can be created by social researchers to disseminate useful information to the public, an approach taken by the creators of the “Cure Diabetes” MySpace page’ (2008: 845). However, Beaulieu (2004) suggests that there is a body of research that argues that ‘computer mediated communication’ is not a rich enough form of interaction to sustain meaningful social relations because of the absence of face-to-face interaction and a geographical place or locale where the interaction takes place. In contrast, many ethnographers also suggest that ‘cyberspace’ is a site of unique and meaningful forms of sociality. The internet allows the ethnographer to engage in fieldwork by adopting a new persona or switching roles, but again although this is common practice for people who contribute to lists and blogs, as part of a research project it raises the issue of deception. There has been some research into websites for people with anorexia and other eating disorders. So called pro-ana sites allow people to interact globally with like-minded people and can often be a greater source of information, advice and influence than immediate family or friends. LeCompte (2002) asks a number of questions about this changing nature of the site for ethnography. What happens when ethnography is no longer grounded in real geography? This question raises the important issue of whether the ethnographer can still search for patterns of behaviour in everyday life.

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Thinkpiece The ethics of investigating pro-ana websites Hammersley and Treseder (2007) have investigated pro-ana sites: these are web pages that actively promote and encourage people to become anorexic and bulimic, and provide detailed advice to assist their readers. These sites often reject the idea that these eating disorders are a health problem, rather they adopt a human rights stance and view the adoption of an eating disorder as a lifestyle choice. Hammersley and Treseder give their readers a taste of these sites’ content: ‘We have to expose society to the positive aspect of ana. The awareness of our needs, our ability to face criticism, our infinite strength, our determination and our indominable wills. Please don’t bend under pressure. Keep ana alive and well. If you’re anorexic, keep losing weight at all costs. Never let anyone force you to eat’ (2007: 291–2). The pro-ana attitude includes the following set of beliefs: s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s

@-YLIFETIMEGOALISTODIEFROMSTARVATION 4HEMOREWEIGHT)LOSE THEBETTER)FEEL 4HERESNOSUCHTHINGASTOOTHIN %ATINGISASIGNOFWEAKNESS 0ERFECTIONISACHIEVEDTHROUGHRESTRICTING !NOREXIAWILLMAKEYOUbeautiful. .OONECANDOWHAT)WE DO 0ROTRUDINGBONESMAKEYOULOOKawesome. !NOREXIASHOWSyou are superior. #RITICSOFANOREXIAAREJEALOUSORFAT .OMATTERWHEREYOUGO you’re still thin. .OMATTERWHATYOUDO you’re still thin. )AMINCONTROL !,7!93 .OONECANTAKEANAFROMME no one! %XTREMEEMACIATIONISAGOODSTART )FYOUARENTANOREXIC YOURETHEENEMY
 (Hammersley and Treseder, 2007: 291–2)

Questions 1. Can we investigate websites without the permission of the people who manage and maintain their content? 2. Even if we accept the argument that web pages are in the public domain, are there any ethical issues in engaging in a blog for the purposes of data collection without informing the respondents of your research? 3. Are there any ethical problems in having an email exchange with a person who is unaware that their responses may be quoted in a research project?

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Thinkpiece Review what has been written here and write a list of the pros and cons of internet ethnography. This should help you to decide if this approach really is one for you.

As we shall see in other chapters there are many advantages to data collection via the internet. However, the researcher who is considering this method needs to keep in mind that internet access in the UK is much lower amongst socially disadvantaged groups than it is amongst the rest of the population.

Conclusion In this chapter we have outlined and evaluated some of the key aspects of the ethnographic approach to social research. For Hammersley and Atkinson (1983) ethnography has two distinct meanings: a set of methods used to collect data and a written account that makes use of ethnographic methods of data collection. We have seen that ethnography is based upon a number of assumptions about social action. Social action is at the centre of the social context in which it is observed and as such ethnographic fieldwork involves face-to-face interaction with the respondents: ‘immersing oneself in a collective way of life for the purpose of gaining first-hand knowledge about some facet of it’ (Shaffir et al. 1980: 6). Social action can only be understood by exploring the meaning of an action for social actors themselves (verstehen). The respondents suggest the initial categories or organising principles for the data analysis, and it is from this that the ethnographer goes on to further shed light on key concepts and create an explanation as to why people behave in the way that they do. Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica conduct an ethnographic study? Interviews and questionnaires are perhaps the two most popular methods of data collection across the social sciences. Erica has already given a great deal of thought to conducting an interview in the form of a quiz that should allow her to find out the level of factual knowledge that zoo visitors have when leaving the zoo. After reading this chapter on ethnography, Erica is concerned that simply collecting information from people about their factual knowledge of biodiversity and sustainability is only part of the story and it does not explore the meanings and feelings that zoo visitors have about biodiversity and sustainability, and how these feeling states may have changed as a consequence of their visit to the zoo.

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There are a number of practical problems with her quiz idea. Many of the zoo visitors are children who may not have the language skills or abilities to fully understand or answer questions about biodiversity and sustainability. Erica is also concerned that the children may not understand issues about animal reproduction. Erica considers the practical problems and the potential advantages she may encounter if she opted to conduct an ethnographic piece of research. First, who is she going to collect data from? She could approach the head teacher of a local school who is planning a trip to the zoo for a group of students. She could ask the head teacher to write to parents asking them if they would give their permission for their children to be included in Erica’s research. She could also visit the zoo and conduct a ‘thick description’ or very full description of the zoo and the educational and informational resources provided for visitors. Finally, Erica could meet the students before the zoo visit and talk to them about their knowledge of biodiversity and sustainability. During the visit Erica could speak to, listen to and observe the children to identify if their understanding of the issues had changed.

Bibliography Abel, T. (1948) ‘The Operation Called Verstehen’, in H. Feigl and M. Brodbeck (1958) (eds), Readings in the Philosophy of Science, New York: Appleton, pp. 677–87. Atkinson, P. (2004) ‘Performance and Rehearsal: The Ethnographer at the Opera’, in C. Seale, G. Gobo, J.F. Gubrium and D. Silverman (eds), Qualitative Research Practice, London: Sage Publications. Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid Modernity, Cambridge: Polity. Beaulieu, A. (2004) ‘From brainbank to database: The informational turn in the study of the brain’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 35(2): 367–90. Cooper, N. (2000) ‘Understanding People’, Philosophy, 75(3): 383–400. Davies, F. (1963) Passage through Crisis: Polio victims and their families, Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill. Erikson, E. (1965) Childhood and Society, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Fairclough, N. (1992) ‘Discourse and Text: Linguistic Intertextual Analysis within Discourse Analysis’, Discourse and Society, 3(2): 193–217. Fetterman, D.M. (1989) Ethnography: Step by Step, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Garton, L., Haythornthwaite, C. and Wellman, D. (1999) ‘Studying On-line Social Networks’, in S. Jones (ed.), Doing Internet Research, London: Sage. Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, New York: Anchor Books. Goffman, E. (1962) Asylums, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Gold, R. (1958) ‘Roles in sociological field observation’, Social Forces, 36: 217–33. Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1983) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, London: Routledge.

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Hammersley, M. and Treseder, P. (2007) ‘Identity as an analytic problem: who’s who in “pro-ana” websites?’, Qualitative Research, 7: 283–300. Harrington, A. (2001) Hermeneutic Dialogue and Social Science: A Critique of Gadamer and Habermas, London: Routledge. Humphreys, L. (1970) Tearoom trade: a study of homosexual encounters in public places, London: Duckworth. LeCompte, M.D. (2002) ‘The transformation of ethnographic practice: Past and current challenges’, Qualitative Research, 2(3): 26–39. Lipps, T. (1903) Grundlegung der Ästhetik, Leipzig: Leopold Voss. Lofland, J. (1976) Doing social life: The qualitative study of human interaction in natural settings, New York: Wiley. Lurie, A. (1967) Imaginary Friends, London: Heinemann. Magnet, S. (2007) ‘Feminist Sexualities, Race and the Internet: An Investigation of Suicidegirls.Com’, New Media & Society, 9(4): 577–602. Morrish, E. (1997) ‘Falling Short of God’s Ideal’, in A. Livia and K. Hall (eds), Queerly Phrased, New York: Oxford University Press. Munch, P. (1957) ‘Empirical Science and Max Weber’s Verstehende Soziologie’, American Sociological Review, 22: 26–32. Murthy, D. (2008) ‘Digital Ethnography: An Examination of the Use of New Technologies for Social Research’, Sociology, 42(5): 837–55. Oakeshott, M. (1975) On Human Conduct, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Richards, I.A. (1936) The Philosophy of Rhetoric, New York and London: Oxford University Press. Runciman, W.G. (1983) A Treatise on Social Theory, Vol. 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schaap, F. (2002) The Words that Took Us There: Ethnography in a Virtual Reality, Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers. Schatzki, T.R. (1997) ‘Practices and Actions: a Wittgensteinian Critique of Bourdieu and Giddens’, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 27(3): 283–308. Scheler, M. (1954 [1912]) The Nature of Sympathy (trans. Peter Heath), New Haven: Yale University Press. Shaffir, W.B. and Stebbins, R.A. (eds) (1991) Experiencing fieldwork: an insider view of qualitative research, Newbury Park: Sage. Shaffir, W., Stebbins, R. and Turowetz, A. (eds) (1980) Fieldwork Experience, New York: St Martin’s Press. Sharp, K. and Earle, S. (2003) ‘Cyberpunters and Cyberwhores: Prostitution on the Internet’, in Y. Jewkes (ed.), Dot.cons: Crime, Deviance and Identity on the Internet, Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing, pp. 36–52. Slater, D. (1999) ‘Trading Sexpics on IRC: Embodiment and Authenticity on the Internet’, Body and Society, 4(4): 91–117. Smelser, N. and Baltes, P. (2001) The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Oxford: Elsevier. Weber, M. (1968 [1922]) Economy and Society, G. Roth and C. Wittich (eds), New York: Bedminster Press.

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Defining participant observation Participant observation is a form of ethnographic research in which the researcher has direct human contact with the people under investigation. The approach is normally associated with qualitative case study-based research projects, in which researchers entrench themselves in a social group, often for long periods of time, to collect data

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primarily from the standpoint of the people under investigation. Researchers often attempt to identify systematic patterns of behaviour derived from the subjective understanding of the respondents in order to draw an inference about social groups. The approach can also be useful in exploring the actual and existing human meaning system of a group and can be used to generate a greater understanding of actual human realities that people experience in their everyday lives. With participant observation the main instrument of data collection is the researcher and central to the success of the data collection process and the data analysis is the skill of the researcher in understanding the people under investigation, in particular the ability to make the connection between the human meaning system of the researcher and the human meaning system of the people who are being observed. If we assume that the social world is subjectively structured and meaningful for the people who share any given social context then participant observation is potentially a very useful method of data collection because a researcher also shares the same social context, often for long periods of time. The researcher can develop a close relationship with the people who are being investigated and an understanding can be achieved. This suggests that participant observation is not really a suitable method for collecting data to test a given theory. But it can be used to generate theories, concepts and hypotheses that include causal explanations that can be tested by more conventional methods at a later date. Observation involves collecting discreet or unobtrusive visual data about the world and ideally the researcher should be in a position to identify an observation as a fact. The researcher must be in a position to make observations that are both specific and accurate: this means that the observations made should have the same meaning for everyone who makes the same observation. Observations can be qualitative or quantitative in nature. s Qualitative observations are factual descriptions that do not use numbers, such as ‘Emily has brown eyes’. s Quantitative observations are factual descriptions that use numbers, such as ‘Emily has two eyes’. Some researchers adopt more of an observational role than participant role, whilst others adopt a more participatory rather than observational approach. According to Brewer (2000) it is possible to identify four levels of participant observation: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Complete participant covert, full participation. Participant-as-observer overt, full participation. Observer-as-participant overt, minimum participation. Complete observer overt, minimum participation (2000: 84).

On the basis of the observations made the researcher should be in a position to draw an appropriate inference. It is important to remember that an inference is not necessarily

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a fact but should be seen as an informed speculation as to why events unfold in the way that they do. The inferences a researcher makes may not always be correct but they should always make sense. If you observe that the ground is wet you might infer that it has rained. If you see a white substance in the sky you might assume that it is cloud, but it could be smoke from a forest fire. Participant observation is often used to collect data about hidden groups in the population, groups that we know very little about usually because they are not easy to research by more conventional methods of data collection. Such groups include those engaged in illegal activity or those involved in intimate actions. The approach is also used when there is a significant difference between the way in which the group views itself and the perception of the group amongst the general population. Goffman’s book Asylums (1962) that looked at human interaction on a locked psychiatric ward is a good example. Observation provides a descriptive measure of social action. Participant observation involves understanding what the researcher sees and hears. Rather than imposing meaning on the participants, the goal of participant observation is to demonstrate how participants/speakers achieve everyday social actions by acquainting themselves with the linguistic and non-linguistic components of the participant’s actions, attempting to identify the organising principles that underpin the role of the participant’s talk in social interaction. Data analysis focuses on how participants collaboratively co-construct their actions and conversation by drawing upon different types of textual evidence from the context in which the conversation takes place. The stages in the research process involve: s ADESCRIPTIONOFTHECONTEXTOFTHERESEARCH WHERETHERESEARCHISBEINGCONDUCTED and who the participants are; s ADESCRIPTIONOFTHEPATTERNSOFBEHAVIOUROBSERVED s AN INTERPRETATION THAT SUGGESTS SOMETHING ABOUT THE UNDERLYING ORGANISATION OF patterns within the contexts in which it is embedded; s THE UNDERSTANDING OF OBSERVATIONS BY MAKING USE OF A RANGE OF INTERPRETATIVE approaches: verstehen, sympathetic introspection, humanistic coefficient and sympathetic reconstruction; s DRAWING AN APPROPRIATE INFERENCE THAT EXPLAINS HOW THE INTERPRETATION OF THE lNDINGS is related to theoretical and practical issues.

Understanding human meaning systems through observation There are four common approaches to understanding the meaning of social action, including conversation, within a given context:

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1 Verstehen (Weber 1922) We looked at this approach to understanding in Chapter 7. In that chapter it was argued that researchers who use verstehen assume that it is possible for them to put themselves in the respondents’ social and cultural context in order to reconstruct or ‘re-experience’ the world as the respondents do and attempt to understand the underpinning rationale behind the thoughts, feelings and motivation of the respondents in an effort to understand their behaviour. For Weber there are two levels of understanding in the process of verstehen: 1. adequacy at the level of meaning: this involves providing the reader with a very full description of the actions and behaviours we have observed; 2. causal adequacy, in which as researchers we draw an inference as to why the people observed are behaving in the way that they do.

2 Sympathetic introspection (Cooley 1933) Sympathetic introspection is a procedure whereby the researcher attempts to analyse the respondent’s consciousness by putting themselves in the position of the respondent. For Cooley this approach should be the principal analytical tool of the social researcher because for Cooley a researcher’s investigation of social actions should be concerned with understanding the motivational structure that underpins social action; the subjective meanings that social actors attach to the situation in which they find themselves. This understanding can be achieved through a process of introspection, because researchers share the equivalent mental processes of the people they are investigating. Cooley argued that personal or social knowledge is developed through contact with people the researcher is investigating. By coming to understand their state of mind, thoughts and sentiments researchers can develop a sympathetic understanding of the motives and intentions that underpin a respondent’s social action. Cooley argued that everything that takes place in the social world is connected with everything else; nothing is isolate in nature including social actors. This means that every thought we have is linked with the thought of others (such as our ancestors, friends and acquaintances) and through them to the wider society via our reflective consciousness. Cooley suggests that our reflective consciousness is a social consciousness, or awareness of society, which consists of reciprocal influence and is inseparable from self-consciousness. Self-consciousness is not primary or the foundation to social consciousness. As social actors we are all capable of introspection, a process by which people exercise their mind through an infinite variety of experiences that Cooley describes as intellectual– emotional, simple–complex, normal–abnormal, sociable–private, each time the person documents what they understand as significant in what they have reflected upon. The researcher puts him or herself into ‘intimate contact with various sorts of persons and allowing them to awake in himself a life similar to their own, which he

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afterward, to the best of his ability, recalls and describes. In this way he is more or less able to understand – always by introspection – children, idiots, criminals, rich and poor, conservative and radical – any phase of human nature not wholly alien to his own’ (Cooley 1933: 99–100).

3 Humanistic coefficient (Znaniecki 1969) Florian Znaniecki suggests social reality is composed of four systems: social actions, social relations, social persons and social groups. As social researchers our data analysis should emphasise the significance of the meaning that participants give to the understanding of their own perception of their own experience. Therefore as researchers we should attempt to reconstruct the experience of the participants and the social context in which the action takes place in order to understand it. Znaniecki described this process as the ‘humanistic coefficient’. Whereas the natural scientist attempts to find a pattern within the data they collect that is independent of human agency, independent of the perception and understanding of people; in contrast the social researcher should look to find a pattern in the social world that is dependent upon the perception and understanding of people. The humanistic coefficient allows researchers to make sense of the observations they make, otherwise social actions would appear to be both meaningless and random. The approach allows the researcher to identify similarities and differences of people’s perception of events and behaviours. One serious issue with this approach however is that no two human agents, including social researchers, may view or understand the social action observed in the same way.

4 Sympathetic reconstruction (MacIver 1942) MacIver argued that as social researchers we need to look beyond mere description, beyond mere measurement, beyond the plotting of indices and the finding of correlations and understand social action. His approach involves the interpretation or understanding of the motives that underpin social action: ‘conjoining motives with the relevant situations’ in order ‘to discover their causal role’ (1942: 223). The main unit of analysis for social researchers should be social relations and like all other objects of culture social relations depend on ‘the imagination of social being’ (1931: 27). MacIver defined community as an inclusive area of social interactions within which people share the basic conditions of common life. MacIver’s theory is interactional in nature. Interaction is the influence of symbolism, language and gestures on culture and mind. Society ‘consists of beings related to one another’ (1914: 59). Institutions are a product of subjective shared values rooted in intended relations: ‘A scheme of values . . . may be likened to a field or force’ (1942: 373). For the interpretation of social phenomena the researcher should be concerned not with individual action but ‘with the modes and processes of interindividual assessment’ (1942: 374).

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Problems with participant observation Participant observation research is often described as lacking in both validity and reliability. The presence of the researcher can influence the participants to behave in ways that they may not otherwise have behaved. Also the behaviour of the researcher may change over time, as can the attitude of the participants towards them. Research bias is also a potential problem. Such bias can be systematic in the sense that the researcher come to the research context with a number of preconceived ideas about the participants but also research projects can be disadvantaged by the lack of awareness of the researcher, or the ethnocentric attribution of meaning, notably when the researcher gives priority to forms of behaviour that are very different from the behaviour that the researcher customarily observes away from the research context. Such behaviour may be insignificant to the people being observed. In addition, over time the recording and interpretation of the events can change, especially if the researcher has had to observe a great deal of irrelevant behaviour. Problems can also arise because of variables over which the researcher has no control, absence of any significant incidents or the poor quality of the events to be observed. The timing of the data collection can be significant: important events may occur when the researcher is away from the field.

Reading and recording observations An important issue for the researcher that uses observation is how do we read an observation; how do attribute the correct meaning of the social actions we observe? If the researcher shares a common meaning system with the people being observed, for example if school teachers observe classrooms, or footballers observe football matches, then the sharing of a common culture is an important resource the researcher can draw upon to make sense of the observation. In our everyday lives we can usually read expressive behaviours with little or no difficulty most of the time. In addition, we make assumptions about facial expressions, the clothes that people wear, shoes, length of hair, the meaning of bodily movements etc. However, if we are observing a culture or context that we are less familiar with, we cannot rely on reading such taken for granted assumptions. Researchers can supplement their observations by recording and giving an interpretation of the conversations that are heard. However, in covert research we cannot formally interview people. In addition, when people do speak in public they are often constrained in terms of what they can talk about and will often talk quietly about sensitive issues.

Sampling procedures The researcher needs to give some thought to their sampling procedure. Although participant observation tends not to be associated with systematic sampling procedures,

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it is important to provide a justification for why the context and participants were chosen. There needs to be an account provided covering if, how and why the context and participants are typical of such cases. This will enhance the face validity of the study and assist the researcher if they want to generalise their findings to a wider section of the population. Different time periods and different locations can be selected for observation to allow for a much fuller view of the context and the participants.

Covert methods A great deal of research involving participant observation has been conducted covertly where researchers hide the fact that they are researchers and act as if they have another legitimate reason to be present. Reasons for doing research covertly can involve gaining access to a group who might otherwise not allow the research to be conducted or to avoid reactivity effects: effects caused by the presence of the researcher influencing the behaviour of the respondents, for example Humphreys (1970) that we looked at in Chapter 7.

Concealment and deception One of the most well-known research projects that made use of participant observation is a study by Rosenhan (1973) that involved 8 pseudopatients, sane people who presented themselves with a false name, at 12 psychiatric institutions across the USA claiming to have ‘existential symptoms’. They each said that they had been hearing a unfamiliar voice of the same sex as themselves saying the words ‘empty’, ‘hollow’ and ‘thud’. The words were read by the medical staff in the institutions as indicating that the person perceived their lives to be meaningless. Once the researcher had gained access to the institution they behaved ‘normally’ and informed the medical staff that they no longer heard the voice. The medical notes indicated that the pseudopatients were never detected by medical staff as imposters. However, many other patients were suspicious of the researchers and Rosenhan quotes patients making comments such as ‘You’re not crazy. You’re a journalist, or a professor. You’re checking up on the hospital’. The length of stay in the institution ranged from 7 to 52 days, all but one of the pseudopatients was assumed to be suffering with schizophrenia and all were released on the grounds that they were ‘in remission’, rather than cured. Rosenhan suggests that because the sanity of the pseudopatients was never discovered this raises serious issues about the ability of medical staff to differentiate normal from abnormal behaviour and the validity of psychiatric diagnoses.

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Thinkpiece However, the issues of concealment and deception do raise ethical concerns about Rosenhan’s research. In a footnote he provides the following justification: ‘However distasteful such concealment is, it was a necessary first step to examining these questions. Without concealment, there would have been no way to know how valid these experiences were; nor was there any way of knowing whether detections occurred were a tribute to the diagnostic acumen of the hospital’s rumor network. Obviously, since my concerns are general ones that cut across individual hospital and staffs, I have respected their anonymity and have eliminated clues that might lead to their identification’ (1973: 258). Questions 1. Was concealment of the researcher’s identity really necessary in Rosenhan’s research? 2. Can you think of an alternative approach that Rosenhan could have adopted that did not involve concealment of the researcher’s identity?

Not simply black and white In 1960 journalist John Howard Griffin published his book Black Like Me. Griffin was a white American who lost his sight during the Second World War whilst on active service. During this period of blindness Griffin reflected on the life of Black Americans living in the Southern United States. In 1957 his eyesight returned and Griffin decided to conduct a research project in which he would pass as a Black American in the Southern United States. He approached Sepia magazine to ask if they would be willing to finance the research project in exchange for the right to print his findings in a series of articles. In the weeks that Griffin spent changing his skin colour by using the treatment for vitiligo, a condition that causes white spots to appear on dark skin, and exposure to ultra violet rays, Griffin got to know the areas of New Orleans inhabited by black people. Griffin also got to know Sterling Williams, an elderly black resident who worked as a shoe shine ‘boy’. Williams became the point of contact for Griffin with the black community. Once Griffin had changed his skin colour and shaved his head he attempted to live his life as a Black American in order to describe and explain the difficulties Black Americans faced in their everyday lives. From 28 October 1957 Griffin kept a diary in which he recorded his six-week experience. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the Southern States practised racial segregation, with separate cafés, bars, toilets and other public facilities for black and white Americans. Racial tensions in the Southern United States often boiled over into violent conflict. Griffin describes the shock of living as a Black American, including the everyday insults, humiliation and the ‘hate stare’ that he commonly received from whites whom he had never previously met. He was not viewed as an individual

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person but as a black man and activities that he had taken for granted as a white man, such as using a bathroom in public spaces, became problematical as a black man: ‘I walked up to the ticket counter. When the lady ticket-seller saw me, her otherwise attractive face turned sour, violently so. This look was so unexpected and so unprovoked I was taken aback. “What do you want?” she snapped. Taking care to pitch my voice to politeness, I asked about the next bus to Hattiesburg. She answered rudely and glared at me with such loathing I knew I was receiving what Negros call “the hate stare”. It was my first experience with it. It is far more than the look of disapproval one occasionally gets. This was so exaggeratedly hateful I would have been amused if I had not been surprised . . . You feel lost, sick at heart before such unmasked hatred, not so much because it threatens you as because it shows humans in such an inhuman light’ (1961: 50–1). ‘Behind the custard stand stood an old unpainted privy leaning badly to one side. I returned to the dispensing window of the stand. “Yes sir” the white man said congenially. “You want something else?” “Where’s the nearest rest room I could use?” I asked. He brushed his white, brimless cook’s cap back and rubbed his forefinger against his forehead. “Let’s see. You can go on up there to the bridge and then cut down the road to the left . . . and just follow that road. You’ll come to a little settlement – there’s some stores and a gas station there.” “How far is it?” I asked pretending to be in greater discomfort than I actually was. “Not far – thirteen, maybe fourteen blocks.” A locust’s lazy rasping sawed the air from the nearby oak trees. “Isn’t there anyplace closer?” I said, determined to see if he would offer me the use of the dilapidated outhouse, which certainly no human could degrade any more than time and the elements had. His seamed face showed the concern and sympathy of one human for another in a predicament every man understands. “I can’t think of any . . .” he said slowly. I glanced around the side toward the outhouse. “Any chance of me running in there for a minute?” “Nope,” he said – clipped, final, soft, as though he regretted it but could never permit such a thing. “I’m sorry.” He turned away. “Thank you just the same,” I said’ (1960: 85–6). Griffin conducted conversation with black and white Americans about their thoughts, feelings and reflections of the racial issue. All but a handful of the people he observed and conversed with knew that he had adopted the identity of a black man. No permission was sought from any of the respondents. He informed the FBI of his intention to conduct the research but he did not seek their permission or their approval.

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Disadvantages of covert research Covert research involves deception because it is based upon the purposeful misleading of subjects by the researcher. Therefore when participant observation involves the researcher adopting a covert role it is commonly assumed to raise ethical concerns. Gaining the informed consent of a respondent is seen as a basic ethical principle of all social research and absence of informed consent from the respondents can be viewed as an invasion of their privacy. s %LMS #ASSELL AND(OMAN ALLGIVEABLANKETCONDEMNATIONOF the approach and argue that there are no situations in which deception is ethically acceptable in social research. s #ASSELL ARGUESTHATCOVERTRESEARCHISMETHODOLOGICALLYUNSOUNDANDMORALLY questionable. In addition to the potential harm caused to respondents covert research may cause harm to the scientific community, creating a climate of mistrust and making it more difficult for future researchers to gain access to the respondents in the future. s #ASSELL  ALSO ARGUES THAT COVERT RESEARCH PRODUCES DISTORTED OR BIASED DATA because the researcher is committed to preserving their false identity, meaning that the researcher has to spend a great deal of time engaged in the systematic concealment of their real identity and attempting to avoid been ‘out-ed’ as a researcher rather than concentrating efforts on data collection and analysis. s "ULMER (OMAN AND "ULMER  ARGUES THAT DECEPTION IS A @GROSS INVASION OF personal privacy’ and ignores the needs and rights of the respondent. s "OK ARGUESTHATWHENRESEARCHERSUSECOVERTRESEARCHRESPONDENTSARE@UNABLE to make choices for themselves according to the most adequate information available, [and are] unable to act as they would have wanted to act had they known all along’. s "URGESS ARGUESTHATCOVERTRESEARCHCANONLYPROVIDETHERESEARCHERWITHTHE opportunity to explore social reality by observation and does not give the researcher the opportunity to interview respondents or explore group documents. s #HADWICKet al. (1984) suggest that if the researcher has established close personal ties with the respondents then the impact of the researcher leaving the field may be psychologically damaging to respondents, generating feelings of betrayal or exploitation.

Advantages of covert research The methodological disadvantages of covert participant research are well documented but some groups do not permit access to researchers, leaving them with the choice of conducting covert research or abandoning the research project. However, a number of commentators have also defended the use of covert research: s (OMAN  ARGUES THAT COVERT RESEARCH OFTEN AVOIDS REACTIVITY EFFECTS THAT ARE OFTEN found when researchers use overt methods of data collection. Covert research can be less disruptive than overt methods in that respondents are free from the influence of knowing they are subjects in a research project and the data collected is in a form

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that is free from respondents feeling they have to tell the researcher what the latter wants to hear. s "OK  AND 7ARWICK  DEFEND THE USE OF DECEPTION IN RESEARCH IF THE deception can be seen to produce unambiguous social benefits that outweigh any potential for harm to the respondents, such as reducing violence. s ,AUDER ARGUESTHATINCERTAINRARECIRCUMSTANCESCOVERTPARTICIPANTOBSERVAtion is both necessary and acceptable as a method of data collection, for example if the researcher wants to investigate deviant communities that would be inaccessible by overt methods. Lauder (2003) adopted a covert role during a three-year research project on the Heritage Front, a Canadian neo-National Socialist organisation, that has a history of violence-based activism and links to terrorist organisations. Lauder argues that far right-wing groups may view the researcher as a potential member making it impossible to research analytically.

Observation in overt research projects In addition to covert studies there a number of overt research projects that make use of observation to good effect. Hochschild’s study was of emotional labour, a form of labour in which people are engaged in customer service involving face-to-face or voiceto-voice contact with the public, where employers attempt to draw upon the emotions and feeling states of their employees as an organisational resource. Hochschild (1983) observed Delta Airlines flight attendants at a training school where recruits learnt how to handle passengers, distribute in-flight meals and enhance the passenger experience. Hochschild also observed Delta Airlines bill collectors who have to adopt a very different stance towards the customer in order to get them to settle outstanding balances on their accounts. Finally, she also observed the recruitment of flight attendants at Pan American Airlines, having been refused permission to observe the process with Delta. From these observations and informal interviews with the people she observed Hochschild argued that her observations provided ‘a set of illustrated ideas about how society uses feeling’ (1983: 17).

Summary of viewpoints In summary, social researchers tend to view overt research as more ethical than covert research because covert research is assumed to ignore the principle of informed consent. Research methods textbooks tend to view covert and overt roles within participant

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observation research as opposites. However, it would be wrong to simply assume that overt research is always more ethical than covert research. The overt researcher role does not always ensure ethical integrity. In addition, McKenzie (2009) argues that research ethics are a not clear-cut matter, and most overt researchers will use covert practices such as: withholding information from the respondents; not revealing your true status to all subjects; engaging in forms of impression management in order to establish a bond of trust with the respondents in order to get the desired response from respondents; or observing respondents who are unfamiliar with the ethnographic approach and therefore not fully aware of the degree to which they are being observed and hence researched. Herrera (1999) argues that the benefits of covert research excuse the use of deceptive methods of data collection.

Thinkpiece Is deception ethically defensible? (1) In 1976 Randall H. Alfred published his account of the Church of Satan. In this research project Alfred pretended that he had converted to Satanism, joined the Church, volunteered to reinforce his false identity as a believer and went on to accept leadership roles in order to gain access to more insider information from Church members. Should Satanists have ethical rights in a research project? According to Jorgensen (1989): ‘the participant observer has no more or less of an ethical obligation to the people encountered in the course of research than she or he would have under other everyday life circumstances . . . the researcher is not necessarily obligated to inform people of research intentions, or even protect them from possible harmful consequences’ (1989: 28). Question Do you agree with Jorgensen or not? Give the reasons for your answer. Is deception ethically defensible? (2) Herrera (1999) argues that the benefits of covert research excuse the of use deceptive methods of data collection. According to Herrera (1999) deceptive experiments are commonplace in social psychology, because when researchers deliberately misinform their respondents about the purpose of research, results demonstrate the methodological value of deceiving respondents. Moreover, arguments for and against deception have advanced very little since the late 1950s and early 1960s. Focusing on experiments in Psychology, Herrera looks at the work of Vinacke who: ‘anticipated arguments now familiar, that deception might somehow harm subjects, or even undermine public trust in psychology. Vinacke also hinted at

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the possible impropriety of deceiving in academic settings or of damage to the “social fabric”’ (1954: 155). However, Herrera suggests that respondents do not mind being deceived. Questions 1. Why would a psychologist feel guilt at having been deceptive? 2. Is some entitlement violated by the deception? 3. Are subjects in psychological experiments threatened more by boredom rather than deception? 4. How would you respond to these questions? Is deception ethically defensible? (3) Brotsky and Giles (2007) conducted a covert participant observation into the interactions that take place on ‘pro-ana’ websites; websites that provide opportunities for people with eating disorders to share thoughts and ideas. In particular the researchers wanted to explore the assumption made by many health care professionals, parents and teachers that such sites are fundamentally anti-recovery. To do this the researchers attempted to explore the beliefs of people who join such online communities and the forms of psychological support such websites offer. The researchers decided to join 12 separate websites, many of which were password protected, by adopting the identity of a person with an eating disorder. A number of the websites allowed for online exchanges between people with eating disorders in real time via chat rooms, instant messenger and bulletin boards. The first stage is described by Brotsky and Giles (2007) as the induction phase, where the researcher constructed a plausible persona that enabled her to obtain access to the website from the gatekeepers and make naturalistic interaction possible. The second phase is described as the interaction phase, where the researcher enters the community as a plausible member. Finally there is the exiting phase where the researcher reflects on the experiences and collects any outstanding data by follow-up interviews. ‘She began by introducing herself as an authentic pro-ana sympathizer who was hoping to establish virtual relationships with like-minded individuals, and continued to participate as naturally as possible across the course of the investigation. As the investigation unfolded, connections were made and close relationships developed through ongoing conversations with participants’ (Brotsky and Giles 2007: 98). Questions 1. There are a number of issues raised by this approach. The first issue is that of deception: was deception justified? 2. The second ethical issue is that of the absence of informed consent. Do the potential benefits for doctors and others in the clinical field of the research findings regarding the motivations of people with eating disorders outweigh the ethical cost?

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Data analysis Like other forms of ethnographic research, participant observation involves a disciplined approach to data collection and analysis. It is not simply about spending time with a group of people and collecting anecdotes. We should view data analysis from a participant observation point of view as an account of accounts, in which the researcher attempts to place personal observation into a theoretical and conceptual context that not only corrects the very personal way in which the data were collected but also transforms the unique social actions observed into objective statements that are meaningful for a wider audience of readers.

Aim of data analysis The aim of all data analysis is to assemble the data collected in a meaningful fashion to produce an explanation, allow interpretation and enable an appropriate inference to be drawn. Most participant and non-participant observers use note taking as the first step in the data analysis process. As with other forms of data analysis, data analysis of observations involves coding the data collected; researchers have to sort, sift and organise collected data. This means that the observations made have to be placed into some form of conceptual or theoretical framework in order to make them intelligible. The researcher’s review of the literature will suggest relevant theories and concepts for the construction of a sound conceptual or theoretical framework.

Finding a pattern An approach identified by Jorgensen (1989) is called the analytic strategy in which the researcher identifies and labels what is the essential element of the behaviour observed. Once the researcher has identified the essential element of the behaviour, the behaviours observed can be placed into classes or categories. This process is an important step in identifying a pattern within the observations and also allows the researcher to identify relationships within the context of the observations. When conversation is used as part of the analysis key words can be used to identify the essential element of the conversation, and again once the researcher has identified the essential element of the conversation by the use of a key word, the key words can be placed into classes or categories. Again this process is an important step in identifying a pattern and allows the researcher to identify relationships with the context. Finding a pattern in the data can be very time consuming. As Diesing observed: ‘[The] method involves taking data as they come, and they usually come in scattered, disconnected fragments. Unlike the experimentalist, who can demand evidence on a specific question from his subject matter, the participant observer must adapt his

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thinking to what his subject happens to be doing. He has to observe each causal interchange as it happens, participate in the ceremony of the day since it may not occur again for two years, talk to the informants who are available, and get involved in whatever problems and controversies are prominent at the moment. At the end of the day he comes home with a wealth of information on a variety of points, but nothing conclusive on any one given point. Over the weeks and months his evidence on a given point gradually accumulates and the various points start to fit together into a tentative pattern’ (1971: 68). However data analysis is a creative aspect of the research process in which you have to construct an account or explanation of how and why people behave in the way that you have observed. As Jorgensen rightly points out: ‘While it is important to consult existing literature, you should not be constrained by what other people have done. Use your imagination!’ (Jorgensen 1989: 110). The coding of data from observations can be done in several ways but one of the most systematic approaches to the analysis of observation is the thematic content analysis.

Thematic content analysis The first stage in data analysis is an in-depth description of the context in which the respondents are to be found; this description will later form the ‘thick description’ or opening chapter of the final research report. Part of this process is defining the issues to be addressed. According to Gruber and Wallace (1999) the in-depth or thick description gives the reader a chance to get a sensitive insight into the insider perspective of the people under investigation. Data analysis in research projects that use participant observation as the primary method of data collection often starts with the researcher making field notes. Analytic ideas will start to emerge from when the researcher first enters the field as will puzzlements; these are issues and events, or observations, that the researcher does not fully understand and cannot explain. The initial analytic ideas and puzzlements are also recorded. At this stage the field notes are rough notes about observations collected but over time field notes are slowly but surely refined, through a process of reading and rereading, in an effort to identify regular or recurring themes which are often initially written in the margins of the field notes themselves. As the research becomes more familiar with the culture and context of the field, puzzlements can be returned to and resolved. Note taking is essential if the researcher is to attempt to make sense of observed social interactions and transform raw data into findings.

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Tips to ensure good note taking s !FTER MAKING OBSERVATIONS WRITE UP THE NOTES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT information is not forgotten. s 7RITING lELD NOTES CAN ENCOURAGE THOUGHT ABOUT THE DATA ANALYSIS AND THE appropriate inference. s -AKETWOCOPIESOFTHElELDNOTES ONECOPYTOKEEPANDTHEOTHERTOMAKE notes in the margins and within the text to help identify categories of data, find patterns, key words, relationships etc. and to encourage analysis. In some instances, it may be possible seek additional information from the respondents by informal interview, guided conversation or reflective dialogue, or by looking at documents from the context or field. In Willis’s research Learning to Labour (1977) he discussed his ideas and observations with ‘the lads’ to check the validity of his observations, but this is not always possible for many researchers.

Summary In summary, the thematic content analysis is an interpretative approach to data analysis of observations. The first stage is that the researcher’s observational notes are transcribed verbatim. Secondly, the observational notes are read to get a sense of the context. Thirdly, interactions or words used are identified as significant and are re-defined as meaning units. The meaning units are described in terms of their manifest (literal descriptive meaning) and latent content (meaning that requires interpretation of the content). From the literal descriptive meaning and interpretation, sub-themes or threads of relevant meaning running through the text can be identified. The themes allow the researcher to contextually interpret, compare and contrast the interactions observed with analytic concepts derived from other similar research in the field or other relevant concepts in an effort to build up an explanation of why respondents behaved in the way they did.

Conclusion Participant observation requires the researcher to play the dual roles of observer: the researcher looking at the respondents from a researcher’s perspective in an effort to faithfully interpret and record the reality of the situation and the participant who has a stake in the activities and outcomes of the behaviours being observed. One of the main strengths of participant observation as a method of data collection is that because participant observers experience the ‘reality’ of the situation that the respondents

Conclusion

experience it allows the researcher to understand the context in which interpersonal behaviour takes place. This in turn allows the researcher to draw a greater insight into the respondent’s motives and intentions. Methods with no observational element, such as a self-administered questionnaire, do not allow the researcher to include nonverbal behaviours in their data collection. As researchers we have to weigh this strength against potential weaknesses such as unforeseen bias, selectivity and greater opportunity for the researcher to influence the respondent’s behaviour and potential manipulation of events.

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica use participant observation as her method of data collection? Erica is concerned that all of the methods she has considered so far will only gather some of the information she is looking for or run the risk of her imposing her own meaning on the information that the respondents give her. Perhaps she should consider conducting a case study that used observation or participant observation as her method of data collection? She learns from this chapter that the goal of participant observation is to demonstrate how participants/speakers achieve everyday social actions by acquainting themselves with the linguistic and nonlinguistic components of participants’ actions, attempting to identify the organising principles that underpin the role of participants’ talk in social interaction. If she visits the zoo as an ordinary zoo visitor she could simply follow people as they make their way around the animal enclosures, observe them reading any materials about biodiversity and sustainability, perhaps engage in conversation with them, listen to what they say about the issues and record what they say. If the visitors do not know who she is or that she is a student doing a research project they would probably talk to her and each other without feeling the need to give rational reasons for their comments. In the back of her mind, however, there is the nagging thought that collecting data by observing people and pretending to be an ordinary zoo visitor without their knowledge or consent had an unethical feel to it. Perhaps she needed to give this some more thought! Is there a more ethical approach that she could adopt? Erica thinks about inviting a group of people whom she knows well and who know that she is doing a research project about zoos to join her on a visit to the local zoo. This will allow her to talk, observe and generally get to know what they think about the information zoos offer the public on biodiversity and sustainability. She knows there are issues of poor reliability in this approach but she also knows that what this method lacks in reliability it makes up for in greater validity. Her family and friends want Erica to do well in the research methods project but they cannot give her information they do not have about biodiversity and sustainability, they can only tell her the truth. This is potentially an excellent source of data for her project.

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Bibliography Alfred, R.H. (1976) ‘The Church of Satan’, in C.Y. Glock and R.N. Bellah (eds), The New Religious Consciousnes, Berkeley: University of California. Brewer, J. (2000) ‘Ethnography’, in A. Bryman (ed.) Understanding Social Research, London: Sage. Brotsky, S.R. and Giles, D. (2007) ‘Inside the “Pro-ana” Community: A Covert Online Participant Observation’, Eating Disorders, 15(2): 93–109. Bok, S. (1978) Lying: moral choice in public and private life. New York: Pantheon Books. Burgess, R.G. (1984) In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research, London: Unwin Hyman. Cassell, J. (1982) ‘Harm, Benefits, Wrongs, and Rights in Fieldwork’, in J. Steiber (ed.) The Ethics of Social Research: Fieldwork, Regulation, and Publication, New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 7–31. Chadwick, B.A., Bahr, H.M. and Albrecht, S.L. (1984) Social science research methods, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Cooley, C.H. (1933) Social Consciousness, New York: Scribner’s. Diesing, P. (1971) Patterns of Discovery in the Social Sciences, Chicago: Aldine-Atherton, Inc. Elms, A. (1994) Keeping Deception Honest: Justifying Conditions for Social Scientific Research Stratagems, in E. Erwin, S. Gendin and L. Kleiman (eds) Ethical Issues in Scientific Research: An Anthology, New York: Garland, pp. 121–40. Goffman, E. (1962) Asylums, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Griffin, J.H. (1961) Black Like Me, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Gruber, H.E. and Wallace, D.B. (1999) ‘The case study method and evolving systems approach for understanding unique creative people at work’, in R.J. Sternberg (ed.) Handbook of Creativity, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 93–115. Herrera, D. (1999) ‘Two Arguments for “Covert Methods” in Social Research’, British Journal of Sociology, 50(2): 331–43. Hochschild, R.A. (1983) The Managed Heart: The Commercialization of Human Feeling, Berkeley: The University of California Press. Homan, R. (1980) ‘The Ethics of Covert Methods’, The British Journal of Sociology, 31(1): 46–59. Homan, R. and Bulmer, M. (1982) ‘On the merits of covert methods: A dialogue’, in M. Bulmer (ed.) Social Research Ethics, London: Macmillan. Humphreys, L. (1970) Tearoom trade: a study of homosexual encounters in public places, New York: Duckworth. Jorgensen, D. (1989) Participant Observation, New Haven: Sage. Lauder, M. (2003) ‘Covert Participant Observation of a Deviant Community: Justifying the Use of Deception’, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 18(2): 185–96. MacIver, R.M. (1914) ‘Society and the individual’, Sociological Review, 7, 58–64. MacIver, R.M. (1931) ‘Is statistical methodology applicable to the study of the “situation”?’ Social Forces, 9: 479. MacIver, R.M. (1942) Social Causation, Boston: Ginn and Company.

Bibliography

McKenzie, J. (2009) ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are to Be Here!: Reflections on Covert Practices in an Overt Participant Observation Study,’ Sociological Research Online, 14(2): 8. Rosenhan, D.L. (1973) ‘On being sane in insane places’, Science, 179(4070): 250–8. Vinacke, W.E. (1954) ‘Deceiving experimental subjects’, American Psychologist, (9): 155. Warwick, D. (1973) ‘Survey Research and Participant Observation: A Benefit-Cost Analysis’, in Comparative Research Methods, D. Warwick and S. Osherson (eds), Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, pp. 189–203. Weber, M. (1978 [1922]) Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, G. Roth and C. Wittich (eds), Berkeley: University of California Press. Willis, P. (1977) Learning to Labour, London: Saxon House. Znaniecki, F. (1969) ‘Florian Znaniecki on Humanistic Sociology’, R. Bierstedt (ed.), Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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9 Biographical and autobiographical approaches By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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narrative.

Introduction In biographical and autobiographical approaches to social research, the central methodological approach is the life story based on the assumption that the narrative provides access not only to a person’s identity and personality, but to the wider culture. This approach to social research is based upon the assumption that people are by nature storytellers and that their stories provide coherence to their life experiences. All narrative approaches to social research are interpretative in nature and when interviews are used as part of the approach this involves dialogical listening, in an effort to

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become sensitive to the narrator’s voice and meaning. Dialogical listening is a form of active listening that encourages respondents to fully explore their views via open and frank conversation with the researcher in an effort to come to a fuller understanding. According to Plummer (2001) some personal documents are interesting in themselves because they tell a good story. Such case histories or life stories can help the researcher become sensitive to key concepts and ideas in the area. Plummer quotes Angell and Freedman who explain that: ‘Expressive documents have generally been used in the exploratory rather than the final stages of the research process. Their greatest value perhaps has been in giving investigators a feel for the data and producing hunches with respect to the most fruitful ways of conceptualizing the problem’ (1953: 305). Even an understanding of our own life story has value for the research process. For Plummer, auto-ethnography is the systematic ethnographic exploration of the self. The researcher engages in a process of exploring themselves through conceptually informed introspection of their own thoughts and feelings. This can be developed into forms of collective autobiography (Hazlett 1998), as found in feminist research into women’s autobiographies (Friday 1977; Griffin 1979; Steedman 1987); or the narrative of people who have had slavery imposed upon them (Botkin 1994; Rawick 1971, 1979). Plummer quotes Merton who argued that: ‘The sociological autobiography utilizes sociological perspectives, ideas, concepts, findings and analytical procedures to construct and interpret a narrative text that purports to tell one’s own history within the larger history of one’s times’ (1988: 18). Biographical and autobiographical approaches to social research are concerned with exploring the lives of individual people in great detail, as explained through their own life stories or narratives. Most research that draws upon life stories investigate the lives of marginal people or outsiders, such as Becker’s (1962) case studies of the marijuana smoker and the dance musician, and Garfinkel’s (1967) study of Agnes the transsexual. What Becker and Garfinkel wanted to do in these case studies was to give an insight into the motivation of the people they were investigating and to demonstrate that their behaviour had a rationality to it that most of us were unaware of. Life stories are important for Blumer (1979) because they contain key representations that allow us as social researchers to explore and understand a person’s subjective interpretations of the world and at the same time their life history is also an important resource for the researcher because it is in itself a social object. When people write personal documents for themselves we get an idea of how they perceive themselves, how they construct their sense of self etc. because in these documents the person becomes the object of their own actions. It is possible to interpret, decode and ‘read’ the life that is presented in personal documents, and in this chapter we will look in some detail at the approaches that have developed in this area.

Methods of data collection

What is the biographical method? Read the quote below and write a summary, in one paragraph, of the main points made: ‘The biographical method rests on subjective and inter-subjectively gained knowledge and understandings of the life experiences of individuals, including one’s own life. Such understandings rest on an interpretative process that leads one to enter into the emotional life of another. Interpretation, the act of interpreting and making sense out of something, creates the conditions for understanding, which involves being able to grasp the meanings of an interpreted experience for another individual. Understanding is an intersubjective, emotional experience. Its goal is to build sharable understandings of the life experiences of another’ (Denzin 1989: 28).

Methods of data collection Methods of data collection are many and varied within biographical research. The most commonly used method is the interview but biographical research can also be conducted by the use of letters, diaries and other personal documents, personal memorabilia and documents produced for a wider audience such as published autobiographies. Exploring biography in this way has become popular in the media. Celebrity or star biography and autobiography, reality TV and chat shows, especially where ‘ordinary’ members of the public reveal their most intimate problems to a mass audience in shows such as Jeremy Kyle, Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Springer, all demonstrate how much we are fascinated by biography. According to Foucault: ‘We have become a singularly confessing society. The confession has spread its effects far and wide. It plays a part in justice, medicine, education, family relationships, and love relations, in the most ordinary affairs of everyday life, and in most solemn rites; one confesses one’s crimes, one’s sins, one’s thoughts and desires, one’s illnesses and troubles; one goes about telling, with the greatest precision, whatever is most difficult to tell’ (1976: 59). The biographical and autobiographical approach to research is ideal for a lone researcher with a limited amount of time or resources. It is possible to identify the central themes within the narrative by reading and rereading the accounts given several times until a pattern emerges. In this way it is possible to identify the events that have significance for the respondents themselves, including the episodes or issues that seem to have disturbed them and which motivated them to take the actions they did. Following these themes

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through the text it is possible to identify transitions from one episode in a person’s life to another. Although there are issues and concerns about the validity and reliability of this approach to data collection, especially in relation to the ability of the findings to be generalised to a wider population, it is important to recall the points made in Chapter 6. There are two distinct forms of generalisation: firstly an empirical generalisation, in which the researcher claims that all members of the population are similar to the person who is the subject of the biographical and autobiographical study. Clearly this is not a convincing argument. The second form of generalisation is a theoretical generalisation, in which we take a given theory and investigate if the biography or autobiography can be explained by reference to the theory. If the chosen theory explains the significant events or issues raised by the biography or autobiography then this adds to the validity of the chosen theory. This was the approach adopted by Freud in his development of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a theory of psycho-sexual development and each of the case histories (biographies) that he and others investigated have added to the validity of Freud’s theory. Much theorising and research in the social sciences is about whole populations, or other very large groups of people such as social classes, races and genders. Within this form of research it is possible to lose sight of the simple but important fact that those classes, races and genders are made up of individual people who are living their own individual and distinctive lives, with their own distinct problems and opportunities. The study of individual biography allows researchers to look in detail at how individual people lead their lives on a day-to-day basis. By looking at the lives of individuals it may be possible to identify more general patterns in social life. Merrill and West argue that as a research method: ‘Biography enables us to discern patterns but also distinctiveness in lives. The relationship between the particular and general, uniqueness and commonality is in fact a central issue in biographical research’ (2009: 2). This approach to social research draws upon Weber’s conception of verstehen in that there is a focus on understanding being at the centre of social science research. The biographical or subjectivist turn in the social sciences can be seen as a reaction against forms of research that tended to mimic the natural sciences by ignoring the subjectivity of people and their human agency.

Providing concrete examples Biographical methods can be used to provide concrete examples of how real people experience complex social processes such as those outlined by Giddens in his theory of class structuration. For Giddens, social classes are created by the actions of individual

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people. I love my children and I want them to be successful in life, so I help them with homework, borrow books for them from the university library, take them on foreign holidays and point out things of intellectual and architectural interest, enhance their social skills etc. The unforeseen consequence of my actions is to reproduce the class structure. Giddens explains that in agrarian or early industrial societies individuals were under pressure to follow a culturally given life path, passed from generation to generation. In contrast to this over-socialised view of the individual in which people have very limited control over their lives and their identity, Giddens (1991, 1992) and Beck’s (1992) theories of individualisation both assume that in the contemporary reflexive modern or late modern society that we live in, people have more control and choice over the construction of their own identities. The activities of single individuals can be described to demonstrate how the foreseen and unforeseen consequences of decisions they have made and actions they have taken reproduce the class structures of the advanced societies. My individual actions, which in themselves appear to be of little consequence to people outside of my family, provide a concrete example, rooted in the real life activities of an individual, of how the class structure is reproduced by individual social action. The human agency, or the ability of the individual person to make decisions, is measured by the concrete actions of individual people in their natural setting, rather than as an abstract conceptual category. When agency is treated as an abstract concept, rather than the decision and activity of a real person, there is a tendency in social research to over-simplify complex social issues. For Erben (2008) the biographical researcher should take their starting point from C. Wright Mills’ argument ‘personal problems are public issues’: for example, unemployment may well be experienced as a personal problem but because unemployment affects many people in a society its effects are also public issues. People find themselves in an objective situation that they experience as real but in addition people also have a subjective interpretation of that situation. In the biographical approach the assumption is made that it is possible to provide a convincing description of the reality of the lives of others and identify the respondent’s subjective interpretation of that situation, identifying the factors that help to motivate a person to behave in the way that they do. This means that good social research is to be found where biography intersects with social structure. Thomas and Znaniecki (1996) in their pioneering work The Polish Peasant in Europe and America made a distinction between the objective situation that the person finds themselves in and the subjective interpretation that the person has of that situation. The assumption is that through the effective use of verstehen the biographical researcher can first provide a convincing description of the reality of the lives of others and say something meaningful about what motivates a person to behave in the way that they do. A key element in Thomas and Znaniecki’s research was the quality of the documents that they used in the analysis. The next chapter will address the use of documents and documentary analysis in social research.

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Assessing suitability of documents for research In his evaluation of The Polish Peasant in Europe and America, Blumer asks whether the documents that Thomas and Znaniecki used meet the criteria of what he called the scientific method; in other words Blumer is asking if the documents used in this research were valid and reliable. Blumer suggests that researchers should use a four-fold set of criteria to judge if a document is suitable for use in a research project: (1) do human documents provide representative data, (2) are the data adequate, (3) are the data reliable, and (4) do the data allow decisive validation of proposed theoretical interpretations? (1979: xxix, italics in original). In his evaluation of Blumer’s criteria Plummer (2008) suggests that: s /Nrepresentativeness, [Blumer] suggests that six well-chosen key informants are much better than a sample of a thousand who are only minimally involved. s /N adequacy, Blumer calls for a less rigid ‘variable’ approach and a more ‘broad, flexible and redirecting inquiry’. s /Nreliability, Blumer cites an instance where some life histories were found to be ‘manufactured’ yet ‘rang true’ and ponders: ‘what difference does it make whether the accounts are fictitious or actual happenings’. He goes on to reply that fiction may be very valuable data. s /N testability, in order to further enhance the validity and reliability of our research findings, Blumer suggests the need to gain materials from ‘informants who are knowledgeable about the given type of action’ and to subject it to a panel of similar ‘experts’ (Plummer 2008: 18). However, Blumer makes it clear that there is no one right approach or guaranteed procedure for achieving representativeness, adequacy, reliability and testability of the documents we may want to use in our research.

In a nutshell Blumer’s argument is that as researchers we should not attempt to force our personal interpretation onto the documents that we have collected. Instead we should allow the author’s voice to emerge as it would in the natural setting, with limited interpretation on the basis of our preconceived ideas or imposition of meaning. To impose our own reading onto a document, at the expense of that of the author, is to damage the meaning of what the author wanted to say. To damage the meaning of a document is to damage also the validity of our research findings, as the findings are not as full or as complete as they could have been. However, as a number of commentators such as Fieldhouse (1996) have suggested, although biographical methods are good at producing ‘fine, meaningless detail’ it is

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also the case that the methods can obscure the bigger picture. Biographical researchers may get lost in the detailed description of people’s lives, without understanding how the wider society can shape individual social action. As a researcher who uses biographical methods it is important to keep hold of your conceptual frame of reference in order to demonstrate that an important understanding of some aspect of the social structure or social processes can be more fully explained from our investigation of individual life stories. As Rustin (2008) explains: ‘The ontological assumption must be that individuals have agency, that biographies make society and are not merely made by it’ (2008: 166). An ontology is a theory of what reality consists of whilst agency is the name we give to the individual person’s ability to make decisions and conduct actions on the basis of their own freely chosen motivations. Therefore, what Rustin means by this statement is that as researchers we must assume that the real world is populated by individual people who take responsibility for the things that happen in their lives and who are not simply pushed about by forces outside of their personal control. As such, it is the biographies of individual people that create society and not society that creates the biographies of individual people.

Advantages of biographical methods Bertaux (2003) gives a strong defence of the biographical and autobiographical methods. Although the methods are subjective in nature, he explains that they allow researchers to observe social relations that otherwise would not be visible. The method of identifying life stories as narratives uncovers a great deal of objective information about factors that help to shape social relations because the researcher has to mobilise their subjective skills to make sense of the world they observe. For Bertaux it would be wrong to assume that because the method is subjective no objective data are uncovered. Although he accepts that the notion of a ‘representative sample’ is a powerful research tool, he evaluates the subjective–objective opposition in social research and suggests that ‘quantitative data’ produced by postal questionnaires or structured interviews, for example, are nothing but: ‘the summation of answers to standardised questions, answers which are of course thoroughly subjective themselves, and remain so even if you code them into numbers, mix them all and produce statistical averages or correlations whose sociological meanings (by the way) remain doubtful. However you cook cats, or even a representative sample of cats, you still cannot make a rabbit stew’ (2003: 43).

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Thinkpiece Bertaux’s arguments and ideas are very interesting but not always easy to follow for the student coming to research methodology for the first time. Let us look more closely at his defence of biographical and autobiographical methods. As we have seen, he explains that although the methods are subjective in nature, these methods: s !LLOW RESEARCHERS TO OBSERVE SOCIAL RELATIONS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD NOT BE visible. s )NAUTOBIOGRAPHICALRESEARCH THERESEARCHERHASTOMAKEUSEOFTHEIRPERSONAL and subjective skills to make sense of the world they observe. s "YIDENTIFYINGLIFESTORIESASNARRATIVESTHERESEARCHERUNCOVERSAGREATDEALOF objective information about factors that help to shape their social relations. s /BJECTIVEDATAARESTILLUNCOVEREDAND MOREOVER THEDATAPRODUCEDBYPOSTAL questionnaires or structured interviews are simply a summary of answers to standardised questions. s 4HISISTRUEEVENWHENTHERESPONSESARECOUNTEDANDTURNEDINTOAGRAPHOR table of numbers. Questions 1. Look at each of these points in turn. Do you agree or disagree with the point made? 2. In each case, outline the reasons for your answers.

Discourse and narrative Discourse is a way of using language to organise ideas, knowledge and experience in a natural or concrete context. Whilst narrative is a described sequence of events, such as the unfolding plot of a novel, found in the activities of people as they go about their everyday lives. Both discourse and narrative are important resources for the researcher using biographical methods. This is because the autobiographical or biographical narrative will always contain culturally oriented content. As such, if we could read the narrative in the same way that we come to understand the plot of a novel we would have a much fuller understanding of what respondents do and why they do it. The content of their personal narrative may be highly personalised in nature but it is still evidence of the world we are investigating. The structure of the narrative provides the researcher with an insight into the conventions within a wider culture that underpin the stories people tell about their lives. For the researcher using biographical methods, narrative becomes a creative means of exploring the context in which social action takes place. Rather than viewing reality as a fixed and unchanging given, narrative

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analysis allows the researcher to explore how stories shape individual life experience. Biographical methods of data collection have the ability to challenge traditional and often well-respected assumptions that social scientists make about the world by generating ways of looking at the world. With biographical and autobiographical methods researchers often view themselves as both observers and participants, and the social world around them as ever-changing. Biographical and autobiographical researchers assume that they get a great deal of valid data about the people they investigate that would otherwise be lost if we had to rely on standardised questions that can only capture one small aspect of reality.

The feminist perspective Feminist methodology has had a significant influence on the development of biographical research. As we shall see in Chapter 10 many feminist researchers focus on the subjective experiences of individual women’s lives to demonstrate that individual, highly-personal problems are often public issues facing large numbers of women. Many feminist researchers have attempted to demonstrate how power regulates the subjectivity of women, in that a woman’s subjectivity is often the product of where a woman is positioned in various patriarchal power–knowledge formations. In other words, within the wider society there are forces that oppress, discriminate and/or undermine women. In particular there are patriarchal ideas and knowledge that help to shape a woman’s subjectivity including the way in which she views herself. The biographical approach allows the researcher an opportunity to engage with a woman’s subjective conception of herself. In addition, the biographical approach allows women to share each other’s life stories and narratives, i.e. to share or collectivise their experiences and raise the consciousness of all women. So it is particularly suited to the important methodological issue of how we make a connection between the personal and subjective information given to us by a respondent and wider conceptual frameworks.

Consciousness raising One approach developed by Wittig in a number of her books such as The Opoponax (1964), The Lesbian Body (1986) and Les Guerilleres (1971), involves a form of autobiographical writing that is written in the form of a fiction. In this she attempts to describe and explain her own individual life events from a lesbian perspective, which reflects many common or even universal life events of many women. Women who read Wittig’s work have their consciousness raised by the account of a life and want to further the feminist cause. In summary, Wittig fictionalises events in her life in an effort to raise the consciousness of all women.

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You may not be a woman or a feminist but the feminist contribution to research is also known as standpoint research and as a researcher you could decide to take the point of view or perspective of any group in the population and collect and analyse your data to support that group. Standpoint research has looked at the lives of people with disabilities, children and ethnic minorities.

The ‘neurotic narrator’ and other problems One of the major problems with the biographical and autobiographical approaches is that of the ‘neurotic narrator’, a person who exaggerates the events that they describe to the point where we might want to question the validity of their account or, in extreme cases, the narrator invents a fabricated biography. Lying is an attempt to manipulate and to deceive and is morally questionable but as a researcher lying also damages the validity of our findings as we are not presenting a true or complete account of our respondents. Deception is assumed to be objectionable but there is evidence that in our social and intimate relationships we all practise lying and deception, from little ‘white’ lies to more significant attempts to cause or protect a person from harm. In addition, many people feel the need to lie or deceive in order to maintain politeness. Research in the area suggests that some form of deception takes place in a quarter of all conversations (Buller and Burgoon 1996; DePaulo et al. 1996; Turner et al. 1975). Osterland (1983) raises the issue of the ‘neurotic narrator’ or others who may suffer from ‘retrospective illusions’. One of the most interesting examples of this form of questionable biographical narrative is provided by Wilkomirski who, in 1995, published his book Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood, which gave a very well-informed and moving account of his experiences in the Majdanek and Auschwitz concentration camps. The book was written as a novel but claimed to be based on the author’s first-hand experiences. The book was internationally acclaimed, won a number of awards and was translated into many languages. Within a few years press reports started to question the validity of the account given in the book and it was claimed that Wilkomirski’s real childhood name was Bruno Grosjean (he was later to become known as Bruno Doessekker after adoption). The press reports suggested that Wilkomirski was impersonating a Holocaust survivor and that he was not Jewish and had spent the war years in a Swiss orphanage. In an attempt to counter this claim, Wilkomirski argued that his foster parents made him repress the horrific wartime memories of his childhood, and it was only with the help of a therapist that he was able to access the memories in later life. In the 1970s Gray wrote For Those I Loved, a moving account of his life in the Warsaw Ghetto and his eventual transfer and escape from the death camp at Treblinka. In this account Gray describes how he saw his family killed in the death camp. However, Gray had never been sent to Treblinka. He said later that he had added the sections about Treblinka to give a full account of the Holocaust. Although this form of fabricated autobiography, where a person creates a life story that appears to be completely false, is rare, all biographical accounts may contain false or

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self-deluding memories. There are doubts about the validity of biographical accounts given to researchers because it is difficult for the researcher to understand fully if the account given is what really happened or if it is what the respondent imagined. In the case of memories of Holocaust survival Bloxham and Kushner (2005) rightly explain that such accounts can contain both disjunction and confusion rather than smoothness because the Holocaust was not experienced by victims as a coherent narrative.

The problem of generalisation Individual life stories are also individual case histories and we face the problem of how to generalise what we are told to larger populations. When we do attempt to make generalisations from one life history to a wider population we run the risk of overinterpreting respondents’ accounts by imposing meanings and motivations that may not be present in the original life story. Social scientists have a tendency to try and link life stories to wider social processes or structures that the respondent may be unaware of. The voice within the narrative is almost always edited and presented by the researcher and this can raise ethical concerns about the misrepresentation of the life story. There is also the important distinction to be made between the narrative truth that might include a set of motivating factors that the respondent is not fully aware of or may be ashamed of and the historical truth of what they really did in a given situation. Can a biographical account be truthful without being factual? It is important to note, as Thompson (2004) does, that most social science research relies on the memory of the respondent and the reliability of remembered events is always questionable.

Thinkpiece Reflect for a moment on Thompson’s comments that: ‘it is not only what people say and whether it was true, but how they remember it that matters’ (2004: 83).

Plummer argues that: ‘Clearly the biography is neither the life nor the lie: it cannot capture or represent the “real personhood” per se, but neither is it a fiction – an idealistic construct that is “all in one’s head.” . . . To recognize that biography is a social object, however, is to appreciate that self story telling is a ceaseless, empirically grounded, emergent process of shifting truth; never fixed once and for all, the stories we weave into our lives play a hugely important task in reorganizing our pasts, permitting the presents, and anticipating the futures. They can be frozen into “texts” which then may have a life of their own (largely in the hands of the “reader”), but the limits of such freezing has to be recognized’ (2008: 27).

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Thinkpiece Works of fiction often give an informed account of the experiences and motivation of people in a given set of circumstances. Fictional accounts often present ‘typical’ accounts of people in a given situation that allow the reader to make a connection with the experience of real people with whom we are familiar. Questions 1. Take a fictional or fictionalised account of a life such as the film The Elephant Man. To what extent does the film give you an insight into the problems that people with visible physical impairments may face in their everyday lives? 2. Are the techniques of the film maker or the novelist of any value to the social researcher?

What is narrative analysis? Although there are many definitions of narrative one of the more interesting is that provided by Lieblich and his colleagues: ‘a discourse, or an example of it, designed to represent a connected succession of happenings’ (1998: 2). For Lieblich et al., narrative relates the life story to the wider culture: ‘People are meaning generating organisms; they construct their identities and self-narratives from building blocks available in their common culture and beyond their individual experience’ (1998: 9). Labov (1972) is one of the most influential exponents of narrative analysis. He defines narrative as a method of over-reviewing past experience by matching a temporal sequence of independent verbal clauses to a series of past events. He describes the sequence of the narrative in the following terms: s s s s

Abstract clauses that provide a summary and/or point of the story. Orientation clauses that provide details of time, place, characters and situation. Complicating action: the event sequence or plot, with a crisis and turning points. Evaluation where the narrator steps back from the action to explain the point of the narrative, why the narrative is being told and to comment on the meaning of the narrative. s Resolution: the outcome of the plot. s Coda clauses that indicate the ending of the narrative and outline the effects of the narrator’s actions, bringing the action back to the present. The coda should provide readers of the narrative with a clear understanding of the actions described.

What is narrative analysis?

These points appear to be very abstract, so in order to show how these points are used in a research project below is an example of a narrative analysis that makes use of Labov’s approach.

How to conduct a narrative analysis On the 7 July 2005 three bombs were detonated on the London Underground and one bomb on a bus in central London. In 2008 Abdula Ahmed and seven other men stood trial in the UK for planning to bomb transatlantic airliners with home-made liquid explosives. Police found that a number of the men had recorded martyr videos. Using Labov’s approach, Best (2010) conducted a narrative analysis of the martyr videos of the London suicide bombers Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan and the videos made by Abdula Ahmed and others. Tanweer’s abstract clauses are directed to the non-Muslim population of Britain: ‘To the non-Muslims of Britain, you may wonder what you have done to deserve this. You are those who have voted in your government, who in turn have, and still continue to this day, to continue to oppress our mothers, children, brothers and sisters, from the east to the west, in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Chechnya.’ Khan’s narrative explains: ‘Our religion is Islam – obedience to the one true God, Allah, and following the footsteps of the final prophet and messenger Muhammad . . . This is how our ethical stances are dictated. Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate atrocities against my people all over the world. And your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. Until we feel security, you will be our targets. And until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation.’ The orientation clauses in Tanweer’s video make use of a map of central London and the scene immediately after the events. This leads to an event sequence that shows what is said to be the mixing of chemicals to be used in the bombs used in the attacks. The evaluation of the narrative in Tanweer’s video is provided by Ayman al-Zawahri (who became leader of al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden). There is a common resolution in all the narratives which is the motivation for targeting civilians. In 2008 eight men stood trial in the UK for planning to bomb transatlantic airliners with home-made liquid explosives; later police found that a number of the men had recorded martyr videos. One of the men, Tanveer Hussain said in his video: ‘We’re not targeting innocent civilians . . . They’re the battle grounds of today so whoever steps in these trenches, they, yeah, you haven’t got us to blame.

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You’ve got to blame yourself, and collateral damage is going to be inevitable and people are going to die, besides, you know, it’s work at a price. Stop supporting the puppets and helping our enemies. If you do this, we’re going to leave you alone. If you don’t, you’re going to feel the wrath of the Mujahedeen, Inshallah [God willing].’ There is common ending to all the narratives, Tanweer’s video, for example, explains that the 7 July bombings would be only one of a number of attacks that would continue ‘until you pull your forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq’. One of the other men who stood trial in 2008, Umar Islam, was asked in his video, to talk about his feelings in relation to killing innocent Western civilians. He allegedly responds with the words: ‘I say to you disbelievers that as you bomb, you will be bombed. As you kill, you will be killed. And if you want to kill our women and children then the same thing will happen to you. This is not a joke.’ There is an issue about the completeness of these videos. The researcher cannot be sure if a video had been edited and by whom. In addition, the researcher does not know if the videos were produced for public consumption as a form of propaganda or if they were produced as a personal and private statement to be viewed only by family and friends. The complete videos may have contained significantly more information, for example, personal information about a bomber’s state of mind etc. Abdula Ahmed Ali’s video and the others released in 2008 were released by the police. They were very short and hence we can assume they were edited to form part of the evidence in a trial. Tanweer’s video was edited as it contains information about the planning of the events, an animated sequence outlining the route of the train in the underground and sequences in which Ayman al-Zawahri, reported to be al-Qaeda’s second in command, provides a commentary on the events as they unfolded and on Tanweer’s motivation. In response to an objection that the videos are material produced to further the aims of al-Qaeda and as such we should not accept the videos as personal narrative, then in that case the videos would have to be viewed as an al-Qaeda narrative and are still a valuable resource for analysis. In either case the complicating action section of the narrative appears to be complete and as Labov makes clear: ‘Only . . . the complicating action, is essential if we are to recognize a narrative . . . To identify the evaluative potion of a narrative, it is necessary to know why this narrative – or any narrative – is felt to be tellable; in other words, the events of the narrative are reportable’ (1972: 370). The narratives discussed here concern matters that for Labov are always reportable: ‘the danger of death or of physical injury’ (p. 370). In other words, as Labov explains: ‘the basic pattern emerges with great clarity from this small set’ (p. 393). Ayman al-Zawahri’s role in Tanweer’s video is to act as a neutral observer and evaluate his actions as a disinterested third party for Tanweer. For Labov such forms of embedding give the narrative greater dramatic force. A number of central narrative devices are used within the videos, such as repetition and the use of comparators in relation to past events. These clauses are often bound together as remembered events by the narrator. Questions are also

What is narrative analysis?

used by narrators to give the narrative greater evaluative force, especially when such questions contain requests for action and challenges to personal behaviour. In the case of Tanweer’s narrative, most of his comments are directed at Muslims in Britain and the altruistic nature of the message is clearly present: ‘Oh Muslims of Britain, you, day in and day out on your TV sets, watch and hear about the oppression of the Muslims, from the east to the west. But yet you turn a blind eye, and carry on with your lives as if you never heard anything, or as if it does not concern you. What is the matter with you that you turn back not to the religion that Allah has chosen for you? You have preferred the dunya [concerns about status in relation to possessions rather than spiritual concerns] to Allah . . . ‘Oh Muslims of Britain, stand up and be counted. You are those who Allah has honored with Islam, and know that if you turn back from your religion, Allah has no need for you. As Allah, in Surat Al-Maida, says: “Oh you who believe, whoever from amongst you turns back from his religion, Allah will bring a people whom He will love, and they will love Him. Humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the cause of Allah, never fear the blame of the blamers, that is the grace of Allah, which He bestows upon whom He wills, and Allah is All-sufficient for His creatures’ needs.” ‘Fight against the disbelievers, for it is but an obligation made on you by Allah . . . ‘Oh Muslims of Britain and the world, the dunya is just a fleeting enjoyment, and unto Allah will be your return. Obey Allah and His messenger, if you are indeed believers. Fight against the oppressors, the oppressive British regime.’ Tanweer ends his video with the comment: ‘Oh Allah, grant us martyrdom in Your cause, and accept us among the righteous on the day we shall return to You.’ Tanweer goes on to explain that: ‘What you have witnessed now is only the beginning of a series of attacks that will continue and pick up strengths till you pull your soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq and stop your financial and military aid to America and Israel.’ The narrative of blame against civilians assumes that dying justifies killing and as such neither Khan or Tanweer should be classed as a murderer. As Crenshaw puts it: ‘The truth of the cause is established by the individual’s willingness to sacrifice everything on its behalf ’ (2001: 28). These findings echo Hafez’s comments that a central theme in the discourse of suicide bombers is: ‘the redemptive act of martyrdom. Suicide bombings are not only an opportunity to punish an enemy and fulfil God’s command to fight injustice, it is also a privilege and a reward to those most committed to their faith and their values . . . The act of martyrdom is seen as an attempt to redeem society of its failure to act righteously’ (2006: 176).

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However, as was suggested above, there is always an issue about the completeness of a given text. The complete text may have contained significantly more information; this information may have contained personal information about the respondent’s state of mind etc. In any case the ‘complicating action’ section of the narrative appears to be the most significant for understanding its meaning. Once we have captured the narrative with our chosen method of data collection, we have the difficult task of analysing it.

Data analysis in biographical and autobiographical research There are three basic approaches to data analysis in biographical and autobiographical research. Plummer (2001) has defined them as: s ANALYTICINDUCTION s GROUNDEDTHEORY AND s THEPROGRESSIVEnREGRESSIVEMETHOD

Analytic induction Analytic induction was developed by Znaniecki in the 1930s and involves the detailed investigation of one life story in order to identify aspects of the life that can be generalised to other people, and possible explanations therefore developed. We then select a second life story and apply our generalisation and possible explanation to see if it can account for the central aspect of the life. If not, the hypothesis is revised. The more lives we investigate the more valid the findings become and the more likely we are to be in a position to make a statement about the population as a whole.

Grounded theory Grounded theory is an approach to data analysis that allows explanations to emerge from the systematic collection of data. As we have already seen in Chapter 6, Glaser and Strauss explain that grounded theory starts with creation of categories or themes for the collection, organisation and analysis of data. As the data are collected they are placed into one of the themes or categories. As the themes or categories become saturated with data they are sub-divided into separate categories and relationship between the categories start to present themselves. Through this process new conceptual understandings are developed.

Conclusion

The progressive–regressive method The progressive–regressive method was developed by philosopher Sartre in his three volume book The Family Idiot (1981, 1987, 1989). He argues that individual people have choices in their lives but they can never fully escape history or the impact of forces outside of the control of the individual such as class, race or gender. We read or understand a life by placing it in its historical context, and identify how this life might have been influenced by its association with a given class, race or gender. We look at decisions made by an individual and try to identify how this is connected to wider social forces. This approach was used by Connell (1995) in his study of four groups of men who were experiencing differing concerns about their masculinity because of choices and associations they had made.

The ethical issues Finally, a note about the ethics of doing a research project that draws upon personal narrative. Narrative is often an important resource in the construction of a preferred identity and to question a narrative or impose an unintended interpretation upon the narrative may cause distress or damage a respondent’s sense of self. The role of the researcher is an interpretative one; to make sense of the responses of the people in the study for the reader. However, it is important to note that there is what Bryman (2001) calls a ‘double interpretation’ taking place. As researchers we are providing an interpretation of other people’s interpretations. In other words, because this type of research is often intimate and personal, involving the reconstruction of a person’s experience, there are important ethical issues raised by representing life stories in a way that the respondent did not intend.

Conclusion It has been suggested that autobiographical and biographical approaches are more art and literature than sound research practice. The approach: ‘seems based predominantly on talent, intuition, or clinical experience; defies clear order and systematization; and can hardly be taught’ (Lieblich et al. 1998: 1). Although this approach to research might be said to lack reliability it cannot be said to lack validity because it can give us a very full understanding of the person, their inner or subjective world, their feeling states, unseen connections with others in the wider culture and the social and historical world the person is living in. Very often the approach identifies that personal problems are often public issues, ignored or unseen by more objective and systematic methods of data collection.

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Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica use biographical and autobiographical research? From her reading of this chapter, Erica has come to realise that her own understanding of the zoo can have value for the research process. She considers using autoethnography (the systematic ethnographic exploration of the self ) to engage in a process of conceptually informed introspection of her own thoughts and feelings about issues of biodiversity and sustainability. This should allow her to explore and hopefully understand her own subjective interpretations. If Erica can gain an understanding of the complex social process in relation to biodiversity and sustainability this might help her to devise some questions either for an interview guide, interview schedule or questionnaire that would generate valid data.

Bibliography Angell, R.C. and Freedman, R. (1953) ‘The use of documents, records, census materials and indicies’ in L. Festinger and D.D. Katz (eds) Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Beck, U. (1992) Risk Society, Cambridge: Polity. Becker, H. (1962) The Outsiders, New York: Free Press. Bertaux, D. (2003) ‘The Usefulness of Life Stories for a Realist and Meaningful Sociology’ in R. Humphrey, R. Miller and E. Zdravomyslova (eds), Biographical Research in Eastern Europe: Altered lives and broken biographies, Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. Best, S. (2010) ‘Liquid Terrorism: Altruistic Fundamentalism in the Context of Liquid Modernity’, Sociology, 44(4): 678–94. Bloxham, D. and Kushner, T. (2005) The Holocaust: Critical Historical Approaches, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Blumer, H. (1979) Critiques of Research in the Social Sciences: An Appraisal of Thomas and Znaniecki’s The Polish Peasant in Europe and America, New Jersey: Transaction Press. Botkin, B.A. (ed.) (1994) Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery, New York: Delta. Bryman, A. (2001) Social Research Methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Buller, D.B. and Burgoon, J.K. (1996) ‘Interpersonal Deception Theory’, Communication Theory, 6: 203–42. Connell, R.W. (1995) Masculinities, London: Allen & Unwin. Crenshaw, M. (2002) ‘Suicide Terrorism in Comparative Perspective’ in Countering Suicide Terrorism, Herzliya: Anti-Defamation League. Denzin, N.K. (1989) Symbolic Interactionism, Newbury Park: Sage.

Bibliography

DePaulo, B.M. and Bell, K.L. (1996) ‘Truth and Investment: lies are told to those who care’, Journal of Personal Social Psychology, 71(4): 703–16. Erben, M. (2008) ‘The Problem of Other Lives: Social Perspectives on Written Biography’ in B. Harrison (ed.) Life Story Research, London: Sage. Fieldhouse, R. (1996) A History of Modern British Adult Education, Leicester: NIACE. Foucault, M. (1976) Birth of the Clinic, London: Tavistock. Friday, N. (1997) My Mother/My Self: The Daughter’s Search for Identity, McHenry IL: Delta. Garfinkel, H. (1967) Studies in Ethnomethodology, Cambridge: Polity. Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self Identity, Cambridge: Polity. Giddens, A. (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy, Cambridge: Polity. Gray, J.A. (1970) ‘The psychophysiological basis of introversion-extraversion’, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 8: 249–66. Griffin, S. (1979, 2000) Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her, San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. Hafez, M.M. (2006) Manufacturing Human Bombs: The Making of Palestinian Suicide Bombers, Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace. Hazlett, M. (1998) ‘Woman vs. Man vs. Bugs’: Gender and Popular Ecology in Early Reactions to Silent Spring’ http://www.historycooperative.org Labov, W. (1972) Sociolinguistic patterns, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R. and Zilber, T. (1998) Narrative Research: Reading, Analysis and Interpretation, Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi: Sage. Merrill, B. and West, L. (2009) Using Biographical Methods in Social Research, London: Sage. Merton, R.K. (1988) ‘The Matthew Effect in Science 11: Cumulative Advantage and the Symbolism of Intellectual Property’, ISZS 79(299): 606–23; available at http:// garfield.library.upenn.edu/merton/matthewii.pdf Osterland, M. (1983) ‘Die Mythologisierung des Lebenslaufs. Zur Problematik des Erinnerns’, in M. Baethge and W. Essbach (eds), Entdeckungen im Alltaglichen: Hans Bahrdt: Festschrift zu seinem 65, Geburtstag, Frankfurt/Main and New York: Campus, pp. 279–90. Plummer, K. (2001) Documents of Life 2: An Invitation to Critical Humanism, London: Sage. Plummer, K. (2008) ‘Herbert Blumer and The Life History Tradition’ in B. Harrison (ed.), Life Story Research, London: Sage. Rawick, G. (1971) American Slave: From Sundown to Sunup – The Making of the Black Community, Westport CT: Greenwood Press. Rustin, M. (2008) ‘Reflections on the Biographical Turn in Social Science’ in B. Harrison (ed.) Life Story Research, London: Sage. Sartre, J.-P. (1981) The Family Idiot 1821–1857, Volume 1, Carol Cosman (translator), Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sartre, J.-P. (1987) The Family Idiot 1821–1857, Volume 2, Carol Cosman (translator), Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sartre, J.-P. (1989) The Family Idiot: Gustave Flaubert, 1821–1857, Volume 3, Carol Cosman (translator), Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Steedman, C. (1987) Landscape for a Good Woman, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Thomas, W. and Znaniecki, F. (1996) The Polish Peasant in Europe and America: A Classic Work in Immigration History (originally published as a five volume set between 1918–20) edited by E. Zaretsky, Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Thompson, P. (2004) ‘Pioneering the Life Story Method’, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 7(1): 81–4. Wilkomirski, B. (1995) Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood, New York: Schocken Books.

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Introduction Most biographical research is conducted by the use of the in-depth interview but personal narratives can also be found in letters, diaries, photographs and other personal documents. Scott (1990) explains that many of the leading social scientists of the nineteenth century, such as Durkheim, Weber and Marx, used documentary methods of data collection in preference to what are now believed to be more accepted methods such as interviews and questionnaires. For Scott documents are an important ‘unobtrusive’ source in empirical research. Scott defines a document as ‘any kind of written text, where “writing” is understood in its broadest sense of the use of a pen, pencil, printing machine, or other tool for inscribing a text on paper, parchment or some other material medium. This definition includes electronic documents produced on computers and the chiselled inscriptions on stone tablets

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as well as the more typical cases of handwritten or printed documents on paper’ (1990: 6). Scott goes on to include a range of visual documents such as photographs, paintings and moving images. However, before we can use any document in our research projects we need to assess its validity and reliability. Scott (1990) outlines four criteria: 1. Authenticity: as researchers we must be satisfied that the document is genuine. Is the document really written by the person we believe to be the author? Also is the document complete? The meaning of a document can change if it has been edited, or if it has missing or unreadable sections. 2. Credibility: we need to evaluate the author’s motives and make a judgement as to why the document was produced. The author may be genuine but is their account accurate? Many documents are written by people who have a political or religious motivation, for example, that influences their interpretation of events. Also if the document is recording events over a long period of time we need to question if we can trust the author’s memory. 3. Representativeness: even if the document is written by the person we believe to be the author, contains an accurate reflection of the author’s views and opinions and is complete, we need to ask if the document is representative. In other words, is the document typical of documents written by the author or is it unrepresentative of the author’s views and opinions. If there are a significant number of documents in a particular area of interest we might have to take a sample from the documents that are available and disregard any documents that are not typical. 4. Meaning: once we have satisfied ourselves that the document we wish to use in our research project is authentic, credible and representative we can only use the document if we can understand its meaning. In everyday life we can usually read a document because we share a common language with the author. To read the document we simply draw upon the stock of knowledge that we share with the author and this provides us with our literal understanding. Glaser and Strauss (1967: 163) argue that documents ought to be regarded as being as significant as the researcher’s informant or interviewee. Prior (2008) rejects the argument that researchers can have a passive understanding of documents. Not only do we need to take into account how documents function, are used and distributed in the field but Prior argues that ‘documents do much more than serve as informants and can, more properly, be considered as actors in their own right’ (2008: 822). In other words, documents should be considered as non-human agents. This argument is found within actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Law and Hassard 1999). Prior discusses the work of Callon (1986), who investigated the scallop fishermen of Saint Brieuc Bay. The fishermen understood that the scallops were central to their livelihoods – and spoke about the scallops as if they were social actors. The scallops together with starfish, larvae, sea currents etc. should be regarded as ‘actants’, claims

Introduction

Prior. The actant is a ‘thing’ that may not display consciousness but often acts as a social actor. Documents and other objects can change their nature depending on the way they are used within a network.

Actor-network theory A network is a collection of interdependent social practices. Actor-network theory was developed by Callon (1991) and Latour (1992). Much of our everyday life involves working with machines and other forms of technology or non-human actants. We often delegate tasks to non-human actants: we drive cars rather than walk, we use email and telephone rather than face-to-face conversation. This interface with non-human actants influences the way in which we act. Our use of technology shapes our identity as we become skilled at using some forms of technology in preference to others.

Thinkpiece For Sacks (1970) membership of a given culture provides us with a range of membership categorisation devices that allow us to identify the common interpretation of text. Communication takes place within shared codes that are usually not written down but which are conventional in nature. Sacks (1970) asked his reader what to make of the following fragment from a story by a seven-year-old child: ‘The baby cried the mommy picked it up.’ Questions 1. What does this statement mean? Reflect for one moment on the range of possible meanings/readings and make brief notes on why you have selected one reading over the other possible interpretations. 2. Do we understand the ‘mommy’ to mean mother, rather than one of the living dead? 3. Is the ‘mommy’ the mother of the child that is crying? 4. Did the child start to cry and was as a consequence then picked up by its mother? Or did the ‘mommy’ pick up the child in order to make it cry?

Our understanding of a text can progress a long way by using our own literal awareness, but in social research there are times when we need to have a more systematic reading or interpretation of a document. Two of the most common methods of the systematic interpretation of a text are semiology and content analysis.

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Semiology Semiology is the study of signs and sign systems and was invented in the nineteenth century by de Saussure (1857–1913) as the first form of investigation. It was further developed by Barthes, Jakobson, Levi-Strauss, Sebeok, Kristeva and Eco into a wider perspective known as structuralism – an approach to the social sciences that assumes that the minds of all individuals have a tendency to arrange and classify the things they perceive in a universal manner. This classification reflects underlying social and cultural systems. For Saussure language is a self-contained system, composed of various aspects that carry out a range of roles, based on the relations that the various aspects have one with another. The purpose of semiological analysis is to bring together all these elements of language to identify the system of signs that provides the meaning of the text. Saussure made a distinction between language as a system (la langue) and the actual act of speaking or writing with the words themselves (la parole). If you are an English speaker then you not only have the ability to speak English sentences but you have assimilated the system for doing so and have the ability to create new sentences. For the semiologist culture is a system of communication. In terms of documentary analysis, all documents contain a sign, and the sign is the thing that you can observe, such as a printed word in the analysis of written documents. The semiologist will often refer to the sign as the abstract unit of analysis. In the case of the spoken word, the purpose of the sign is to communicate an idea or concept by the use a visual or auditory message. For the semiologist, the words we speak or write are referred to as referents of the sign. A sign is understood in relation to two key concepts: the signifier, which is the physical sound that we make or the mark we make on a paper; and the signified, which is the concept or idea that the author of the sound or mark on the paper is trying to get across to you the listener or reader. This approach is based upon the assumption that in communication we have a thing to be spoken or written about and a method of transmission. The relationship between signifier and signified appears to be natural to the people who share the language. However, for Saussure the relationship between signifier and signified is both arbitrary and conventional. In other words, the relationship between signifier and signified is not a natural link: it is something that is based upon an agreement between people who share the language. The meaning of words can change. Take for example the word ‘gay’, which was previously a word that denoted a feeling of happiness but has come to signify sexual preference. There are, however, authentic onomatopoeic words, words that sound like the thing they signify, such as bow-wow-wow, tick-tock and splash. Even these forms of words do not emerge organically from the linguistic system of la langue, but are conventional and based upon shared agreement, like all other words.

Semiology

Definitions s 4HEsignifier is the physical thing that carries the meaning – such as the spoken or written word. s 4HE signified is a concept that all people who share the same culture understand the meaning of. s 4HEsign is the meaning of the text and the meaning is generated by the coming together of the signifier and signified: signifier + signified = sign

The relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary in most cultures and emerges by convention and regular use although there are iconic signs that are assumed to have a natural link between signifier and signified. We understand signs because we share a common culture and for Saussure this gives signs their commonsense meaning. Signs are organised into codes. Some codes have a paradigm element to them in that they are organised as a set of units such as letters of the alphabet that come together to form words we can read. Also codes can have a syntagm construction that is used to identify links between units, such as grammatical rules. There are also connotative signs that either have a more subjective meaning or that are fully understood only by a minority group in the population. The most effective forms of communication are to be found when we have only one signifier for one signified as is often the case with road traffic signs. In most forms of communication, polysemic meaning is common in that we have a number of codes and a range of choices about the meaning of the signifier. Cultural forms such as poetry, film and visual art are often vague, obscure and multi-dimensional, and have to be read and interpreted in a way that is much more demanding than, for example, looking at a road sign. Barthes (1915–80) was a French intellectual who developed semiology over the course of the twentieth century. His books, notably Mythologies, Empire of Signs and The Fashion System are still widely read. Mythologies was drawn from series of essays he wrote for the magazine Les Lettres Nouvelles, and never intended to be released as a book. These mythologies address the cultural meaning of such diverse subjects as striptease, wrestling, the Eiffel Tower and the new Citroën car. For Barthes the reading, understanding or systematic study of narrative or text, including a visual image, is dependent on our understanding of codes within the culture. We access the code by drawing upon the accumulated cultural knowledge that enables us as the reader to recognise details as contributions to a particular function or sequence. Such codes are rules produced within the culture that inform us of the natural ways of reading or understanding the narratives or discourses of a culture. For Barthes structuralism is a way of analysing cultural artefacts as a product of these underlying systems of rules and distinctions. Signification is a product of networks of relations

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that relate to the system in which they function. The role of the researcher is to identify symbolic patterns and thematic interpretations. Barthes (1977) gave the following example from a Bond film: ‘When Bond orders a whisky while waiting for his plane, the whisky as indice has a polysemic value, is a kind of symbolic node grouping several signifieds (modernity, wealth, leisure); as a functional unit’ (1977: 118). The code embedded within the culture gives our interpretation confidence and in our mind events and interpretation are one and the same. The ordering of a whisky at an airport appears naturally to indicate modernity, wealth and leisure. However, Barthes (1977) argues that not all meanings can be read because not all meanings are relevant to all readers. Barthes made a distinction between denotative materials that have universal comprehensibility, and as such can be understood by all readers, and connotative materials that are intelligible to some groups of readers and some individuals but not to others. In addition the reader has a choice in terms of how to read the signifier as Barthes explains in terms of his own reading of a text: ‘The problem, the problem at least posed for me, is exactly to manage not to reduce the Text to a signified, whatever it may be (historical, economic, folkloristic or kerygmatic), but to hold its significance fully open’ (1977: 141 italics in the original). In an essay on stills from the films of Eisenstein, Barthes (1977) identifies and reflects on three different levels of meaning within, or orders of signification of, the photograph (text). The first level of meaning is an informational level that contains the obvious meaning. If I watch an advertisement on television for washing powder then the informational level of meaning would be ‘buy this product it will get your clothes clean’. There is also a second level of meaning that Barthes terms the symbolic level of meaning. This level of meaning will raise issues for me the reader about the role and status of dirt within Western culture. In an essay on washing powder in his book Mythologies (Barthes) observes how washing powders are often presented as maintaining order, separating the dirt from the clothes. Dirt is a natural thing but it must be kept in an appropriate place. If I make an omelette I might view this as a beautiful thing that I would like to consume, but if I drop some of it on my shirt it becomes dirt. There is also a third level of meaning that Barthes refers to as the obtuse meaning; this is the personal, even unique, reading that we have of any text. In a picture taken from the film Ivan the Terrible, Barthes describes a scene in which two men are pouring gold coins over the head of the newly crowned Czar. Barthes describes his obtuse reading of the picture in the following terms: ‘Is that all? No, for I am still held by the image. I read, I receive (and probably even first and foremost) a third meaning – evident, erratic, obstinate. I do not know

Content analysis

what its signified is, at least I am unable to give it a name, but I can see clearly the traits, the signifying accidents of which this – consequently incomplete – sign is composed . . . I am not sure if the reading of this third meaning is justified – if it can be generalized – but already it seems to me that its signifier (the traits to which I have tried to give words, if not to describe) possess a theoretical individuality’ (1977: 53). In his last book on photography Barthes (1981) explored this issue more fully in terms of a visual image, he explains there is a structural rule that is based upon two concepts: the stadium which is what one reads from the image by drawing upon our understanding of the general culture and the punctum which is the aspect or detail of the image that provides us with a focus for personal understanding of the image.

How to conduct a semiological analysis s 0ROVIDEABRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFTHETEXT2EMEMBERTHATATEXTCANBEMADEUP of words and images, some of which are denotations and some of which connotations. s )DENTIFYTHESIGNIlERSANDDESCRIBETHEM s 7HATISTHEOBVIOUSMEANINGORNON CODEDICONOGRAPHICLITERALMEANINGOF the text? s )DENTIFYTHESIGNIlEDSANDSUGGESTTHECONCEPTSORIDEASTHATTHEAUTHOROFTHE text is attempting to get across to the reader. In other words, what is the text attempting to say at a symbolic level: what is the coded iconographic or symbolic meaning of the text? s )DENTIFYTHEPARADIGMSTHATTHEAUTHORHASDRAWNUPON s )DENTIFYTHESYNTAGMSTHATTHEAUTHORHASDRAWNUPON

Content analysis Content analysis is an approach to data collection and data analysis in which the meaning of a text emerges systematically and objectively by defining the content of a text as a set of indicators and then allocating each of the indicators within the text to a set of pre-determined categories or themes. These categories or themes are used to count the number of times each indicator appears in the text. Supporters of content analysis argue that this numerical quantification provides the researcher with the true meaning of the text. According to Berelson: ‘Content analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication’ (1966: 263). This sounds very difficult but in reality is a very simple approach to data collection and data analysis.

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How to perform a content analysis s $ECIDEONTHECENTRALTHEMEYOUWISHTOSEARCHFORINTHETEXT s )NVENT A SET OF ANALYTICAL CATEGORIES n IN A WRITTEN TEXT THESE WILL BE SPECIlC words. s #OUNTTHENUMBEROFTIMEEACHINDICATORAPPEARSINTHETEXTnTHISCANBEDONE by using coloured markers on the transcript to identify the key words. s 4HEAMOUNTOFSPACEDEVOTEDTOATHEMEINTHETEXTWILLTELLYOUSOMETHING about its significance. s /NCEYOUHAVECOUNTEDALLTHEKEYWORDS DRAWANINFERENCE

Content analysis is said to avoid the problem of interpretation because the emphasis is on what is said in the text rather than on how it is said or in what context. If, for example, you wanted to identify the ideological stance of a politician, you could count the number of times a key word/indicator such as freedom was used in their election speeches. As Berelson explains, the content analysis is concerned with ‘what is communicated, not the intentions of the communicator’ (1966: 262).

Glasgow University Media Group For over 30 years the Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) have used content analysis amongst other methods to argue that television news in Britain does not fulfil its legal obligation to present political and industrial news in a balanced and neutral manner. The work of the group demonstrates both the strengths and the weaknesses of content analysis. The group argue that: ‘the dominant ideology works in the production of television news’ (GUMG 1980: 497). Television news presents a distorted, false and ‘misleading portrayal of industrial disputes in the UK when measured against the independent reality of events’ (1980: xiii). The authoritative sources they cite include the Financial Times and Management Today. The group are interested in the ideological function of language within news and current affairs programmes: ‘We have been centrally concerned with the role of media in the mass production of misunderstanding and ignorance . . . We have also shown how the media do have a role in the legitimisation of powerful interests and how ideologies can actually work to convince populations’ (Philo and Miller 2001: 17). However, in Seeing and Believing Philo explains that ‘class experience was not synonymous with political belief ’ (1990: 153) and that ‘the beliefs of an individual are not a single coherent entity in a linear fashion from one aspect of their class position’

Content analysis

(1990: 185). The argument is that the language used in news and current affairs programmes has a central role to play in the reproduction of capitalism. The group defines ideology as: ‘social perspectives or ways of understanding which are linked to class or other interests’ (Philo and Miller 2001: 17). Television journalists ‘wish to claim that their reportage is accurate and trustworthy, although as we show in the case studies of our original work the unconscious political assumptions which they hold produce selection and distortion which often invalidate these claims’ (GUMG 1995: 182). In the GUMG’s work there is a lack of clarity about the link between the methodology used and the inference drawn. In More Bad News (1980) the group makes a defence of content analysis: ‘It has been a basic contention of our approach that the detailed examination of the output of television journalism can be used to demonstrate its ideology and practices’ (GUMG 1980: 407). In a nutshell the group does not provide a convincing account of how content analysis can effectively describe, measure or analyse ideology. Also the reference to unconscious political assumptions above is at best informed guesswork and any discussion of ideology would have to contain a convincing account of how the audience consumes and makes sense of the meanings presented to the members in the news. Content analysis operates at a very simplistic empirical level, as the group explains: ‘Since the output clearly has meaning, then the production of that meaning can be as clearly studied on the screen as it can be by interviewing either producers or audiences’ (GUMG 1980: 409). With any set of words in any text, the reader will have a general expectation as to the overt meaning potential of the words used by the authors, simply because we share the language and understand the code. However, in terms of social science research there is the issue of the frame problem. If we see or hear the word coffee this can mean brown liquid, grains, flavour, skin colour etc. depending upon the context in which the word is used. The members of the GUMG are all like-minded Marxists and as such they can all agree on the meaning of the message in a news report, because they probably all agree on the context in which the news is produced. However, the context of news production is very large and open to a range of non-Marxian readings and interpretations and as such it is much more difficult to reduce the context so that only one meaning of a news report is possible. There is a big difference between the ‘manifest’ meaning of the words identified and the ‘latent’ ideological meaning of a text. Content analysis produces a list of words and numbers and cannot identify the intended meaning of the author from a range of meanings. An ideology cannot be detected by simply counting the words in a text: at best this procedure produces a form of ‘repetition speculation’ in which meaning is assigned to key words with no account of how the meaning is arrived at. Content analysis is unable to identify the motivation of the author of a text, and the origin of news ideologies is unexplained as this is not possible to identify in a simple numerical quantification of counting key words that appear in the text.

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Thinkpiece In their book War and Peace News (1985), the Glasgow University Media Group investigated how television news reported the sinking of two ships during the Falklands War: the sinking of the Argentine cruiser, the General Belgrano, on 2 May 1982 and the sinking of the British ship HMS Sheffield on 4 May. The Group conducted a content analysis by using survival statements and casualty statements as indicators of how each news story was presented. The key words that indicated ‘survival’ were much more commonly used in relation to the sinking of the Belgrano than they were in relation to the sinking of HMS Sheffield. This is surprising given that there were no soldiers or sailors that survived the sinking of the Belgrano. Question Can we effectively identify the underpinning meaning of a text, such as a television news report by counting the number of times a key word appears in the text?

Critics have suggested that the GUMG use content analysis to convert their own political assumptions about the media into the true meaning of the text. However, the group’s ‘analysis’ is no more than anecdotal reflections on the meaning of text. In the group’s later work on the Arab–Israeli conflict the content analysis: ‘was undertaken in conjunction with an analysis of audience understanding and reception of news.’ Philo and Berry explain that: ‘It is important to combine such studies because research which rests on content analysis alone leaves the researchers in the position of having to assert what the audience would be likely to understand from the news’ (Philo and Berry 2004: 98–99). In summary: s s s s s

/NLYSHAREDMEANINGSAREIDENTIlEDBYCONTENTANALYSIS 4HESIGNIlCANCEOFATEXTISNOTSIMPLYTOBEFOUNDINWORDCOUNTING #ONTENTANALYSISCANNOTIDENTIFYTHEintended meaning from a range of meanings. 4HEREISABIGDIFFERENCEBETWEENTHE@MANIFESTAND@LATENTMEANINGOFATEXT 4HEMEANINGOFAWORDDEPENDSUPONTHECONTEXTFOREXAMPLETHEMEANINGOFTHE word fault is different for a tennis player than it is for a geologist.

Diaries Keeping a research diary Some researchers consider it good practice to keep a research diary during the research project. Burgess (1982) outlines three roles of the research diary:

Diaries

1. It allows the researcher to maintain a substantive account of information and events. 2. It is an autobiographical record that outlines the involvement of the researcher in the field. 3. It is an analytical account that raises issues, puzzlements and causes of concern during the research process. In addition to its role as a source of information in the writing up stage of the research project, the diary helps to maintain the validity and reliability of the research project. The diary reminds the researcher that they must maintain their role as researcher and spend some of their day reflecting on events in the field. This written reflection helps to provide a much fuller account of events in the field. Also the diary outlines any problems that were encountered in the process of data collection or analysis and how the researchers overcame them. This helps to maintain the transparent nature of the data collection and data analysis procedures, so that anybody who wants to review these processes will have a clear outline of the decisions made and the reasons that underpin those decisions. In her study of the religious group ‘the Moonies’, Barker (1984) kept a diary in which she recorded observations that she did not understand at the time they were observed. As the data collection continued, explanations would present themselves and she could record these in the diary and use it in the process of explanation building. In any research project one of the most important stages is drawing an appropriate inference from the data collected. In other words, your project needs to provide the reader with an account of why the people you investigated behaved in the way they did, or why events unfolded in the way they did. The diary gives you the opportunity to suggest possible explanations and to review them, revise them and give you the researcher the opportunity to evaluate your own work.

A data collection method Diaries are also a potentially useful method of data collection. Respondents’ diaries are useful for gathering data over periods of time and they allow the respondent an opportunity to give an indication of their motivation for carrying out social actions without having to rely on memory as they have do in interviews or with questionnaires. In addition, the respondent can usually record whatever events or issues they wish to record, without the researcher being present. The absence of the researcher avoids the issue of leading the respondents to answer questions in a particular manner by inappropriate prompting and probing or by wording questions in such a manner that they become leading questions. There are nevertheless problems with the use of diaries as a method of data collection. Diaries give people an opportunity to reflect on events in their lives and on their motivation, and this can cause people to change their behaviour. If a method of data collection causes the respondent to change their behaviour this is known as a reactivity effect and is seen as a threat to the validity of our findings.

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For Plummer (2001) there are four forms of diary research: 1. The intimate journal or memoir: these are often published by celebrities and they do give an insight into the life of the author. 2. The time budget or log as devised by Sorokin and Berger (1938): in this form of diary informants are asked to keep a record of specific events identified by the researcher as significant. For example, Maas and Kuypers (1974) asked a sample of 142 people who were in the process of adjusting to old age in San Francisco to keep a diary for one week to outline how the sample spent their time, together with their thoughts and feelings about the events etc. The sample was also asked to comment if the week had been typical of most other weeks. Likewise, Coxon (1996) as part of Project Stigma asked a sample of 1035 bisexual men to keep a daily diary for one month in which they recorded their sexual encounters. In both these research projects the focus was a quantitative study of events; respondents were asked to record what they did and when they did it over the course of each day. 3. The diary-diary interview method: Zimmerman and Wieder (1977) used this method to study the Californian hippy counter culture. Respondents were given $10 to keep a diary of the encounters they had over a seven-day period in terms of who/what/ when/where/how. The respondents were later interviewed about the encounters and events recorded in the diary. As Plummer explains, the researchers: ‘were able to detect stable and recurrent patterns of culturally sanctioned social organization . . . which would have been difficult to uncover by other means’ (2001: 116). 4. Pre-existing diaries: Chambers (1998) and Monette (1992) have used this form of diary to help understand the experience of living with AIDS. There are issues and problems with the use of individuals’ existing diaries as a source of data. Few people in the population keep a diary and this suggests that the people who do keep one are not representative of the population. Unrepresentative samples of people do not generate valid research findings. If we ask a group of people to keep a diary for a period of time then we face the problem of reactivity effects, i.e. people changing their behaviour because of the diary. Also there is the practical problem that recording events in a diary can be time consuming and many respondents may provide the researchers with an incomplete set of diary entries. The various forms of diary method discussed here are all significant for providing researchers with an insight into the lived experiences of individuals via their life histories and often provide very detailed accounts of the motivation that underpin people’s behaviour in everyday life.

Letters Letters and other forms of correspondence are also a potential method of data collection that have been used to good effect in research projects. Thomas and Znaniecki have identified five main roles that letters play in society:

Letters

1. Ceremonial – letters sent to people requiring their attendance at important family events such as weddings and christenings. 2. Informing – letters providing information about absent people such as people on holiday, in the armed forces or in prison. 3. Sentimental – letters that have the purpose of generating a feeling state in the reader, such as letters to a loved one. 4. Literary – letters that have an artistic or aesthetic purpose. 5. Business – for example letters inviting candidates to attend an interview. Research that makes use of letters is not common but in addition to Thomas and Znaniecki’s research on the Polish Peasant, examples include Allport’s (1965) research, Letters from Jenny, which is an analysis of a series of letters written by an old lady to two of her son’s friends between 1926 and 1937. The letters give an insight into the relationship between a mother and son, the feeling states of a person as they are getting older and entering an old people’s home and eventually nearing death. Another example is provided by Straus (1974) who was in correspondence for over 25 years with a person who was alcohol dependent. Again this research gives a great insight into the day-to-day experiences and feelings states of the respondent. We can say that letters are especially useful as a source of information for a research project when we have little idea about what motivates people to think, feel or act in a particular way. In these circumstances we could not put together a list of questions for interview or devise a questionnaire, for example, because we would not know what questions to ask. However, there are problems with using letters as a source of information. One is what Webb et al. (1966) call the ‘dross rate’ where a great deal of the information provided is of little analytical value to the researcher and has to be cut. This raises the important issue of voice: by selecting some aspects of the letter and not others this can involve the researcher changing the emphasis of the letter and even its meaning by selective editing. In addition, we have to remember that letters are usually a very personal form of communication between the writer and the reader and not all the information presented is immediately understood by a reader other than the intended one. One novel approach pioneered by Ang was to invite people to write letters to her in answer to a question: this provided data for her research project. Ang (1985) received 42 letters in response to an advertisement she placed in Viva a Dutch women’s magazine that read: ‘I like watching the TV serial Dallas, but often get odd reaction to it. Would any one like to write and tell me why you like watching it too, or dislike it? I would like to assimilate these reactions into my university thesis. Please write to . . .’ (1985: 10). Ang’s analysis explained that even though the audience knew that Dallas was fiction and that the plot was often unrealistic in nature, many viewers found that the content had a high degree of emotional realism that reflected concerns and emotional problems that the viewers experienced in their everyday lives. Irrespective of the factual or

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ideological content of the programme each viewer had a ‘more or less unique relationship to the programme’ (1985: 26). Although the research was based upon a small self-selecting sample, was unstructured in nature, and could not be considered representative of all Dallas viewers, there is no reason to suggest that the respondents were not typical of the viewing population. As a method of data collection the use of letters made it possible for Ang to achieve a deep understanding of the viewers’ experiences of watching Dallas, because the findings were driven by the participants’ own opinions.

Thinkpiece Read the quote below. What criticism is Ang making about her own methodology? ‘What people say or write about their experiences, preferences, habits, etc., cannot be taken entirely at face value, for in the routine of daily life they do not demand rational consciousness; they go unnoticed, as it were. They are commonsensical, self-evident; they require no further explanations. This means that we cannot let the letters speak for themselves, but they should be read “symptomatically”: we must search for what is behind the explicitly written, for the presuppositions and accepted attitudes concealed within them’ (Ang 1985: 11).

However, there are various criticisms that could be levelled at Ang’s approach. s -ODLESKI HASARGUEDTHAT!NGSAPPROACHCANSIMPLYBECOMEANAPOLOGYFOR popular culture, validating a dominant ideology of consumerism. The argument here is that the method does not allow Ang to be critical of the way in which people consume popular culture but rather simply to give a picture of how and why people enjoy watching the programme. The use of letters did not allow Ang to challenge the authors of the letters, to prompt and probe the respondents to get a fuller and more valid account of their opinions. s 'AUNTLETT  HAS ARGUED THAT @!NG HAS NO PARTICULAR METHOD WITH WHICH TO achieve this (informed guesswork notwithstanding). Attitudes which are actually expressed are fine . . . But how do we find the “concealed” attitudes, the views which (by definition) are not included in the words actually written down? If “we cannot let the letters speak for themselves”, then what can we do?’ (2007: 7, emphasis in the original). Unlike much audience research Ang does not talk down to, patronise or speak from a position of academic superiority to her readers or respondents. Ang’s approach is the opposite of most audience or ‘media effects’ research, such as that of the Glasgow Media Research Group, that appears to assume that people in the audience had very little selfknowledge. Ang’s methodology demonstrates many of the advantages of using letters

Visual methods

as a method of data collection in research projects. Respondents are in a position to discuss issues that are of concern to them and not be influenced by the questioning of the researcher; the use of letters is very good for exploring issues that have not been well researched in the past and where we are unsure of the questions to ask or the issues to address with the respondent.

Visual methods Most research methods are dependent on the use of language, either spoken or written, in the process of data collection. However, people also communicate with each other by the use of a wide range of non-verbal methods such as gestures, facial expressions, gaze, body language, dress and hairstyle. These and other visual representations provide an insight into the culture and offer an alternative to the assumption that social researchers can only investigate the social world by asking people questions. The aim of visual research methods is to gain an understanding of social life by exploring the significance or meaning of images or objects with the respondent. Visual images or objects can be useful when issues are hard-to-put-into-words, especially when we are using academic language; they can enhance empathy with the respondent, draw our attention to things in new ways and even help us to look at the world from the perspective of the respondent or better engage with their experience. For the researcher, ‘seeing’ is a function of the ability to find patterns in photographic data. Collier (1967) suggested that people think photographically, in that they construct their photographs to look like pictures. Hall (1986) suggests that few people recognise how much their visual projections are constructed according to rigid rules about how to view a person, place or thing. Suchar (1997) argues that photography’s potential as a documentary method of data collection is not inherent in the photograph itself, but rather in a interactive interrogatory process that allows the researcher to use the photograph as a way of answering or expanding on questions about the focus of our research. He identifies (1997) two methods used by visual social scientists: s PHOTO ELICITATION s SHOOTINGSCRIPTS

Photo elicitation Photo-elicitation involves taking photographs that are believed to be relevant to a group of people and then using them with those people to explore their subjective meanings (see Beilin’s fieldwork below for an example). Collier and Collier (1986) and

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Samuels (2004) suggest that use of photos is better than normal conversational interviewing in that they appear to stimulate the respondent’s memory. The term photo-elicitation was invented by the photographer and researcher John Collier in 1957. When Collier compared the quality of data obtained from interviews with photographs compared with interviews without, he concluded: ‘The material obtained with photographs was precise and at times even encyclopedic; the control interviews were less structured, rambling, and freer in association. Statements in the photo interviews were in direct response to the graphic probes and different in character as the content of the pictures differed, whereas the character of the control interviews seemed to be governed by the mood of the informants’ (1957: 856). The word elicitation means asking the population being studied how they make sense of the world around them. As researchers we do this in order to come to an understanding of the ways in which respondents categorise the world in order to make sense of it. The term construct is used to describe a set of ideas or concepts that a respondent uses to categorise component parts of an image. In more formal research methods terms, as a researcher we want to know how respondents come to define the constructs and categories of constructs to be used in the data collection and data analysis of the research project. Researchers do this in order to reduce the risk of forcing respondents to choose from a set of constructs invented, or assumed by the researcher to be relevant, but which may not allow the respondents to describe accurately the image. According to Harper, one of the founding editors of the journal Visual Studies: ‘This has a physical basis: the parts of the brain that process visual information are evolutionarily older than the parts that process verbal information. Thus images evoke deeper elements of human consciousness than do words; exchanges based on words alone utilize less of the brain’s capacity than do exchanges in which the brain is processing images as well as words’ (2002: 13). The presence of the photographs makes it easier for respondents to reflect on their lives and identities. This is because a photo can show aspects of identity, and this is especially the case if participants’ own photographs are used because such photos are often very personal, reminding the respondent of the culturally distinct world that the researcher can then share. Spence’s (1986) autobiography reflects upon her experience of her own debilitating illness by using images of her body as a text to challenge the social definitions of female physical attractiveness. Harper (1987) produced a booklength case history of a single individual called Willie, and through the use of photographs Willie reflects upon his life including how he constructs his sense of self through his normal routines and work as a rural artisan. Harper (1987), Collier and Collier (1986) and Curry and Clark (1977) suggest that photo-elicitation is an heuristic device in the research process: in other words it is a

Visual methods

method for generating research questions. Photographs can be also used to prompt and probe the respondent in interviews to answer questions about social, cultural and behavioural assumptions that underpin reality. Mahruf et al. (2007) used photo-elicitation in their study of transition from primary to high school in Bangladesh. Photographs of the respondents’ primary school were used in the research process to assist high school students to make connections with their past experiences. The photographs appeared to remind the respondents of life in the primary school and these strong feelings and memories were used by Mahruf et al. in a series of interviews to evaluate theories of transition. Mahruf et al. suggested that: ‘When photographs were used . . . to ask about school experiences, respondents opened up about experiences and expectations regarding their learning environment. The differences that were evident in the data generated on the two occasions demonstrate how images enriched the data and engaged participants in a collaborative manner. Analysis shows that, in the majority of interviews, significantly more information was provided by pupils when they were speaking with the stimulus of the images’ (2007: 56). Beilin (2005) conducted a photo-elicitation study with hill farmers in Gippsland, south-eastern Australia. The purpose of her study was to identify the farmers’ relationship with the land. She clearly outlines the process of data collection in her research, and this gives readers a very clear idea of how to conduct a photo-elicitation study.

How to conduct a photo-elicitation study There were four phases to Beilin’s fieldwork and in total the data collection took four years to complete. Phase one The first phase was to gain access to the farming community. This involved attending a range of community meetings as a participant-observer. This phase of the research lasted for two years. Once she was convinced that she had an understanding of the community and its concerns Beilin moved on to the second phase of the research. Phase two Secondly, a series of in-depth interviews with 18 farm families took place. These were transcribed and verified by the families as a reflection of what they said in their interviews. At the end of the first interview each family was given a disposable camera and were asked to take 12 photographs of what they considered to be ‘significant landscapes’.

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Phase three The third phase of the project started with the farmers sorting and categorising the photographs. The families were asked to decide their categories; the person who took the photograph had the first opportunity to order and categorise it, this was followed by discussions among family members. The farmers eventually came up with an agreed set of categories and ranked their photographs in terms of their significance within each category. Then Beilin and each family visited the sites where the photographs were taken and there was further discussion about the significance of the sites. Phase four The farmers were asked to sort their photographs into themes or categories. This process of creating categories and an order is what Beilin calls ‘laddering’, and discussing the appropriate order and themes for the photographs is what Beilin calls ‘elicitation’. There then followed a second in-depth interview based on the photo-elicitation sessions and the tour to the sites of where the photographs had been taken. Again the interviews were transcribed and verified by the families.

Beilin explains that the role of the in-depth interviews in photo-elicitation research is to provide a ‘thick description’ for the reader that exposes: ‘the depth and richness of the information. An aspect of this thick description is the recognition that the farmers were not naive photographers. Several of them enunciate a conscious decision to photograph from a particular angle, to tell a particular story and to affirm a particular politic’ (2005: 66). In other words, when the farmers talk about the meaning and the significance of the photographs they have taken, this is not simply as a description of the landscape, but an analysis of the meaning and significance of how the landscape is changing that draws upon the culture of the area, and their social and economic interests as farmers. Beilin explains the significance of the methods of data collection she used in the research in the following way: ‘Harper emphasizes the importance of creating a narrative, or sequence, in the organization of photographs – a “photo essay”, whose meaning is in the “structure and organisation of the whole” (1987, 6). These narratives must expose a story that is a part of the culture, and they are likely to require the researcher to be part of, or have experience of, the culture in order to support the material through extending metaphors and establishing a clear understanding (Harper 1987: 9). The 12 photographs in each study are a deliberate narrative, organized by the narrator with the intention of telling a particular story to the researcher and other viewers’ (2005: 62). Beilin (2005) looks at the ethical dimension of photo-elicitation: she reminds the reader that as a social researcher you should always be conscious of the potential tensions that can exist between the ‘researcher’ and the ‘researched’. Beilin explains that a central element of this research process is the act of ‘giving voice’ or explaining the

Analysing photographic data

image. Beilin draws upon Habermas’s conception of communicative discourse to link the photograph with the spoken word. Communicative discourse focuses on people and on the meanings given to the spoken word by the researcher and the respondent. When the researcher listens to what the respondent has to say they also engage in a process of interpreting and analysing what is said. According to Forester (1989) ‘We listen with our eyes as well as our ears’ (1989: 110). What Forester is pointing to here is the difference between, in essence, passive hearing and active listening. For Forester listening is a moral activity, which creates a sense of collaborative understanding between the researcher and the respondent.

Shooting scripts In contrast, the shooting scripts approach is based upon the assumption that seeing can reveal patterns, features or details about the context in which social action takes place that would otherwise be not readily apparent. Shooting scripts involves the listing of research questions or issues that can be examined by the use of the information contained within photographs (Rothstein 1989; Collier and Collier 1986). For Suchar (1997) the list of research questions or issues provide a means by which photography can be grounded in a strategic and focused exploration of answers to particular theoretically-generated questions.

Analysing photographic data Whether photographs are formally posed, such as school class photos, those commemorating weddings, birthdays, marriages, or personal fun photographs such as family holiday snaps, all contain representations of the self. They are indicators of our personal lives and the events that we found ourselves in at a given point in time. Plummer (2001) explains how some researchers’, such as Barthes’ (1977), evaluation of photography, Harper’s (1987) study of homeless people and Jackson’s (1978) study of prison life, have attempted to develop a narrative visual theory. With this approach the photo is more than simply a resource to aid the researcher’s description; rather the visual image and the words used are of equal status in the text and both are used to develop theoretical constructs. The shooting scripts approach has much in common with grounded theory in that both methods involve the creation of categories for the collection, organisation and analysis of observational data. As the founders of grounded theory Glaser and Strauss explain: ‘In discovering theory, one generates conceptual categories or their properties from evidence; then the evidence from which the category emerged is used to illustrate the concept’ (1967: 23).

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Shooting scripts involves first looking at the photograph and identifying any key concepts or categories in order to generate the list of shooting scripts questions. The second stage is to place the photographic evidence into one of a series of folders or categories that are commonly referred to as a logging frame or logging sheet. When all the photographic evidence has been collected and categorised, the meaning of the photograph is changed into words by a process of ‘open coding’. Strauss and Corbin describe open coding as: ‘The process of breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualizing, and categorizing data’ (1990: 61). As the categories or folders in the logging frame become saturated with data they are sub-divided into separate categories and relationship between the categories start to present themselves: through this process new conceptual understandings are developed. In this process the researcher makes the codes fit the data, rather than the other way around, in an attempt to find answers for the shooting script questions. Strauss and Corbin (1990) name this process of explanation building as axial coding: ‘a set of procedures whereby data are put back together in new ways after open coding, by making connections between categories’ (1990: 116).

Activity One of the most influential photographic research projects to make use of the shooting scripts approach was Stryker’s Farm Security Administration (FSA) project during the 1930s and 1940s. In this project some of the most influential photographers of the day, notably Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein, were given the task of documenting everyday life in small rural towns. The photographers were asked to make a photographic record of such things as ‘Where do people meet?’, ‘Do women and men meet in the same places?’, ‘How do people look?’, ‘What do people’s homes look like inside and outside?’ Question Look up the work of Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein on the internet. Do you feel that these photographs can aid our understanding of the social and economic situation in the USA in the 1930s and 1940s?

Case studies and documentary methods Chapter 6 looked at case study methods of data collection. Before we end this chapter we will look briefly at a case study of a research project that has attempted to combine both documentary approaches and case study approaches to social research with good effect. The combination of two or more methods of data collection within one research

Case studies and documentary methods

project is known as method triangulation and it is one of the ways in which an individual researcher can enhance the validity of their findings. By using more than one method of data collection you obtain a much fuller and more complete picture of the actions of the respondents.

A combination of methods Stones (2002) has written an informed evaluation of the way in which television encourages people to reason, and form opinions, about public issues such as conflict. This example demonstrates that both case studies and documentary methods are very flexible and are useful tools for any researcher. Stones conducted an investigation into a documentary film called The Roots of War that focused on the causes of the conflict in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Stones is concerned that the television documentary has become dominated by an entertainment ethic; in other words that in an effort to increase audience size documentary makers try to enhance the surface ‘watchability’ or entertainment content of the documentary at the expense of critical argumentation, reasoning or substance. Taking his starting point from a number of sources such as Mills’s (1959) concept of the sociological imagination, Nussbaum’s (1997) concept of ‘civic imagination’ (that is a cluster of concerns that provide the taken-for-granted background for reasoning about the public sphere) and a range of social theorists who look at the relationship between agency and structure (Alexander, 1998; Archer, 1995; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992; Cohen, 1989; Giddens, 1984; Sayer, 1984, 2000), Stones tries to identify what is distinctive and what is inadequate about the documentary. Documentaries contain a clear idea about the nature of social reality described within the text and most documentaries about social events contain ‘overt or covert forms of argumentation within which, in turn, there typically resides a thesis (or theses) about the social causes or processes that have produced these events’ (Stones 2002: 360). Stones looks at how documentaries present a picture of the nature of structures, the actions of individual people or human agency and discourses in the production of ‘present events (and images) by absent (near or distant) social processes’ (2002: 357). He does this by the use of two central concepts: ‘the sjuzet (the surface textual presentation, or plot/discourse) and the fabula (the implied story of characters and events as it actually happened in real time and space)’ (Stones 2002: 361). Also Stones draws upon the approach adopted by Bill Nichols (1991) to question: s s s s

THEOVERALLDEGREEOFKNOWLEDGEFOUNDWITHINTHETEXT THEDEGREEOFSUBJECTIVITYREPRESENTEDWITHINTHETEXT THEDEGREEOFSELF CONSCIOUSNESSWITHINTHETEXT THELEVELOFCOMMUNICATIVENESSOFTHETEXT

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For Stones the central thesis of The Roots of War is that the conflict in Yugoslavia is essentialist in nature, in other words that the people were ‘naturally and inevitably constituted as hating other ethnic groups’ (2002: 364). The film encourages the viewer to accept the argument in a passive manner. The argument within the film is built around several interlocking themes: s @ASENSEOFTHEDEEPLYEMBEDDEDETHNICANIMOSITIES s THEIMAGERYOFDREAMSANDMUTUALLYINCOMPATIBLEVISIONSOFTHEFUTURE s THEHEAVY HANDEDIMPLICATIONTHATFUTURECONmICTISINEVITABLE3TONES 368). A more authoritative account of the events such as Woodward’s (1995) Balkan Tragedy, for example, presents a very different picture. Woodward rejects the essentialist ‘enduring ethnic hatred’ argument as too simplistic. In contrast, she suggests that the cause of the conflict was rooted in nationalism rather than ethnic hatred: this distinction was not made in the documentary.

As we can see from this example, both case studies and documentary methods are very flexible and are useful tools for any researcher.

Conclusion This chapter has looked at the documentary methods of data collection. Personal documents can give the researcher great insight into the day-to-day experiences and feeling states of respondents. However, it is also important to note that we can ask respondents to write letters about the topic we wish to investigate, take photographs, or ask them to keep a diary. This approach allows the researcher to understand the motives and intentions that otherwise may not be visible to the researcher. The chapter then looked at two contrasting methods for reading these personal documents: semiology and content analysis. Although both approaches have issues concerning validity and reliability they both address forms of data that are not always easy to capture using more objective and systematic methods of data collection. The value of keeping your own diary whilst conducting a research project was also explored. The keeping of a research diary can help to maintain the focus of your study and be a useful source of data when it comes to writing up your findings.

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Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica use documentary and narrative analysis? Social researchers who use documents in their data collection often regard the documents as reliable and as significant as respondents who complete a questionnaire or interviewees. Erica considers conducting a study of the signs in the zoo that contain information about biodiversity and sustainability. She could simply use her own literal awareness of what information is contained in the sign. Alternatively, she could conduct a simple content analysis in which she counts the number of signs within the zoo that have a biodiversity and/or sustainability theme and investigate the key words that are used within the signs to find out something meaningful about the messages that the signs are attempting to get across to the zoo visitors. However, Erica particularly enjoys reading about semiology so considers looking at each of the signs in the zoo in terms of the signifier (the content that can be seen in the sign) and signified (the idea or concept that the author of the sign is trying to get across to the zoo visitor who sees the sign). Erica believes that this will allow her to make a judgement about the quality of the information about biodiversity and sustainability that zoos provide to their visitors.

Bibliography Alexander, J. (1998) Neofunctionalism and After, Oxford: Blackwell. Allport, G. (1965) Letters from Jenny, San Diego, CA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Ang, I. (1985) Watching ‘Dallas’: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination, London: Routledge. Archer, M. (1995) Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Barker, E. (1984) The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing?, Oxford: Blackwell. Barthes, R. (1972) Mythologies translated by Annette Lavers, London: Paladin. Barthes, R. (1977) Image, Music, Text, New York: Hill and Wang. Barthes, R. (1981) Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, New York: Hill and Wang. Becker, H.S. (1986) ‘Photography and Sociology’, in H.S. Becker (ed.) Doing Things Together, Evanston: Northwestern University Press, pp. 223–71. Becker, H.S. (1986) ‘Do Photographs Tell the Truth?’, in H.S. Becker (ed.), Doing Things Together, Evanston: Northwestern University Press, pp. 9–13. Beilin, R. (2005) ‘Photo-elicitation and the agricultural landscape: “seeing” and “telling” about farming, community and place’, Visual Studies, 20(1): 56–68. Berelson, B. (1966) Content Analysis in Communication Research, New York: Free Press.

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Berger, J. (1982) ‘Appearances’ in J. Berger and J. Mohr (eds) Another Way of Telling, New York: Pantheon Books, pp. 81–129. Bourdieu, P. and Wacquant, L. (1992) An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Cambridge: Polity. Burgess, R. (1982) ‘Keeping a research diary’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 11(1): 75–83. Callon, M. (1986) ‘Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of Saint Brieuc Bay’, in J. Law (ed.) Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge?, Sociological Review Monograph, 32: 196–233, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Chambers, R. (1998) Facing it: AIDS diaries and the death of the author, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Cohen, I.J. (1989) Structuration Theory: Anthony Giddens and the Constitution of Social Life, London: Macmillan. Collier, J. (1957) ‘Photography in anthropology: A report on two experiments’, American Anthropologist, 59(5), 843–59. Collier, J. (1967) Visual Anthropology: Photography as a research method, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Collier, J. and Collier, M. (1986) Visual Anthropology: Photography as a research method, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Coxon, A. (1996) Between The Sheets, New York: Continuum Publishing Group. Curry, J. and Clarke, A.C. (1977) Introducing Visual Sociology, Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. Forester, J. (1989) Planning in the Face of Power, Berkeley: University of California Press. Gauntlett, D. (2007) ‘Media Studies 2.0’, http://mediastudies2point0.blogspot.com Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Cambridge: Polity. Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co. Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) (1976) Bad News, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) (1980) More Bad News, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) (1982) Really Bad News, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) (1995) Glasgow Media Group Reader Volume 1: News Content, Language and Visuals, J. Eldrige (ed.), London: Routledge. Hall, E. (1986) Introduction to Visual Anthropology, London: Collier and Collier. Harper, D. (1987) Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Harper, D. (2002) ‘Talking about pictures: a case for photo elicitation’, Visual Studies, 17(1): 13–26. Latour, B. (1992) ‘Where are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artifacts in Shaping Technology/Building Society’, W.E. Bijker and J. Law (eds) Studies in Sociotechnical Change, Mass.: MIT Press.

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Law, J. and Hassard, J. (eds) (1999) Actor-Network Theory and After, Oxford: Blackwell. Maas, H.S. and Kuypers J.A. (1974) From thirty to seventy: a forty-year longitudinal study of adult life styles and personality, San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Mahruf, M., Shohel, C. and Howes, A.J. (2007) ‘Transition from nonformal schools: learning through photo elicitation in educational fieldwork in Bangladesh’, Visual Studies, 22(1): 53–61. Mills, C.W. (1959) The Sociological Imagination, New York: Oxford University Press. Modleski, T. (ed.) (1986) Studies in Entertainment, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Monette, P. (1992) Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Nichols, B. (1991) Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Nussbaum, M.C. (1997) Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defence of Reform in Liberal Education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Philo, G. (1990) Seeing and Believing: Influence of Television, London: Routledge. Philo, G. and Berry, M. (2004) Bad News from Israel, London: Pluto. Philo, G. and Miller, D. (2001) ‘Corrupting Research: How the market shapes science’, Sociology Review, 11(1): 24–7. Philo, G. and Miller, D. (2001) ‘Market Killing: Reply to Shaun Best’, Social Science Teacher, 30(2). Plummer, K. (2001) Documents of Life 2: An Invitation to Critical Humanism, London: Sage. Prior, L. (2008) ‘Repositioning Documents in Social Research’, Sociology, 42(5): 821–36. Prosser, J. and Schwarz, D. (1998) ‘Photographs within the sociological research process’, in J. Prosser (ed.), Image-based research: A sourcebook for qualitative researchers, London: Falmer Press, pp. 115–30. Rothstein, A. (1989) Documentary Photography, Boston: Focal Press. Sacks, H. (1970/1992) ‘Story organization; Tellability; Coincidence, etc.’ in H. Sacks, Lectures on Conversation, edited by G. Jefferson, Vol. II, pp. 229–41, Oxford: Blackwell. Sacks, H. (1974) ‘On the Analyzability of Stories by Children’, in R. Turner (ed.) Ethnomethodology, Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 216–32. Samuels, J. (2004) ‘Breaking the ethnographer’s frames: Reflections on the use of photo elicitation in understanding Sri Lankan monastic culture’, American Behavioral Scientist, 47(12): 1528–50. de Saussure, F. (1983 [1916]) Course in General Linguistics, C. Bally and A. Sechehaye (eds), trans. R. Harris, La Salle, Illinois: Open Court. Sayer, A. (1984) Method in Social Science: A Realist Approach, London: Hutchinson. Sayer, A. (2000) Realism and Social Science, London: Sage. Scott, J. (1990) A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research, Cambridge: Polity.

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Sorokin, P.A. and Berger, C.Q. (1938) Time Budgets of Human Behaviour, Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press. Spence, J. (1986) Putting Myself in the Picture: A Political Personal and Photographic Autobiography, Seattle: Real Comet Press. Stones, R. (2002) ‘Social Theory, the Civic Imagination and Documentary Film: A Post-modern Critique of the “Bloody Bosnia” Season’s The Roots of War’, Sociology, 36(2): 355–75. Straus, R. (1974) ‘Alcohol and society’, Psychiatric Annals, 3(10): (entire issue). (Reprinted as monograph.) New York: Insight Publishing Co. Strauss, A.L. and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications. Suchar, C.S. (1997) ‘Grounding visual sociology research in shooting scripts’, Qualitative Sociology, 20(1): 33–55. Thomas, W. and Znaniecki, F. (1920) The Polish Peasant in Europe and America: A Classic Work in Immigration History, Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Webb, E., Campbell, D., Schwartz, R. and Sechrest, L. (1966) Unobtrusive Measures: Non-reactive research in the social sciences, Chicago: Rand McNally. Woodward, S. (1995) Balkan Tragedy – Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War, Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. Zimmerman, D. and Wieder, L. (1977) ‘The Diary: Diary-Interview Method’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 5: 479–98.

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Introduction Measurement in the social sciences is a procedure whereby information is gathered from a number of indicators in the form of a single score. A common aspect of measurement in the social sciences is tabulation: this simply means to count the number of people or observations in a given group on the basis of a characteristic that you are

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interested in. Look at the array of data below that shows the ages of first-year students when they started their degree course. What does it show? 21, 20, 17, 30, 51, 18, 19, 18, 18, 18, 20, 22, 19, 19, 22, 23, 37, 19, 19, 23, 18, 21, 22, 23, 18, 18, 20, 22, 18, 18, 18, 19, 19, 18, 18, 22, 19, 19, 18, 18, 18, 19, 21, 21, 23, 24, 24, 24, 25 Most ages of undergraduates entering university seems to be around 18–19 years. The simplest method of constructing an analysis is a univariate frequency distribution: this simply means that the different ages in the array of data are listed, together with their frequency – the number of times they occur in the array. For our data array the univariate frequency distribution would look like this: 17 = 1 18 = 15 19 = 10 20 = 3

21 = 4 22 = 5 23 = 4 24 = 3

25 = 1 30 = 1 37 = 1 51 = 1

A frequency distribution is a very helpful way of summarising data. In addition, categories can be collapsed – grouped together to form a grouped frequency distribution. Our data array can be grouped in the following manner: 17−19 = 26 20−29 = 20 30+ = 3 To divide the sample into age groups of teenagers, people in their twenties and people who are 30 or more years of age is not a ‘natural’ division of people in the data set. It was my choice to divide people in this way. When it comes to constructing frequency distributions it is important to keep in mind that: s CATEGORIESSHOULDBEmutually exclusive; in other words constructed in such a way that each observation can be placed in one and only one category; s GROUPED FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION ALWAYS INVOLVES A LOSS OF INFORMATION COMPARED with the raw data.

Common measures to identify central tendency If we have data in a numerical form it is possible for us to find patterns such as identifying the central tendency. This is what is known in everyday language as finding the

Variance and standard deviation

average but the word ‘average’ has no real meaning in statistics. There are three common measures for identifying the central tendency in a data set: 1. The median would involve us placing all the values or observations from a frequency distribution in rank order and identifying the value that is in the middle. In our data array of student ages we have 49 people in our sample. If we produced a rank order of all the people from youngest to oldest the 25th age of the list would be 19 years of age and this would be the average as calculated by the median. 2. The mode is the most commonly occurring value in the data array. More specifically social researchers would say that the mode is the category that contains the largest number of observations. In the case of our array of student ages because there are 15 students who are 18 years of age this is the average as calculated by the mode. 3. The arithmetic mean is a measure of the central tendency that involves us adding together the ages of all the students and then dividing that figure by the number of people in the sample. More specifically social researchers would say that we find the sum of values of a variable (add together all the ages of the students) and divide the sum by the number of observations (divide the total by the number of students). The arithmetic mean is the most common method of summarising data in social science research. Sum of ages = 1038 Number of students = 49 1038 divided by 49 = 21.2 years of age In social science research, authors tend to avoid using the term average and instead use the term for the specific form of average they are using. If you want to present an average choose the form of measurement that you feel is the most appropriate and give a short justification for using it.

Variance and standard deviation Two other statistical techniques that are important for social science researchers are variance and standard deviation. Variance represents the degree that values are extended around the mean; and the standard deviation is the square root of this value. We express standard deviation using the same unit of measurement. These figures allow researchers to identify the extent to which a single case or observation varies in relation to the whole of a data set. The deviation of a result is the variance or difference between the result and the mean for the set of results from which it was taken.

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Example If we have the following figures: 24, 27, 32, 44, 89, 102 Then the mean is 53 (i.e. 318/6) And the deviation from each value is: 24 − 53 = −29 27 − 53 = −26 32 − 53 = −21 44 − 53 = −9 89 − 53 = 36 102 − 53 = 49

If you add up all the deviation scores and find the average score you will always arrive at zero. Therefore, most researchers find a calculation known as the standard deviation, which is a statistical measure of spread or variability that is a more useful calculation to make.

Standard deviation Standard deviation is the root mean square deviation of the values from their arithmetic mean. Variance is achieved by first squaring each of the deviation scores: that is, we multiply each score on the list by itself. When we do this the squared deviation values are always positive because when we multiply a minus figure by another minus figure the result is always a positive figure. The next step is to divide the number of results in the set to get the variance. In mathematical notation the standard deviation is shown as follows:

s= where

∑( X − M)2 n −1

∑ = sum of elements X = individual score M = mean of all scores n = sample size (number of scores)

The variance is the standard deviation squared, so Variance = s2

Variance and standard deviation

Example In order to calculate the standard deviation of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, first we calculate the mean and deviation. X

M

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The second stage is to calculate the sum of (X − M)2 4 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 4 = 10 The third stage involves the sample size. In this case, N = 5 is the total number of values. We need to calculate N − 1, which is 5 − 1 = 4. We are then in a position to calculate the standard deviation using the formula: 10

4 = 1.58113

The standard deviation = 1.58113

There are a number of websites that allow you simply to type in your values and the site will calculate the standard deviation for your data set. Your tutor may be able to advise you on which are the simplest to use. It is not uncommon for most values in a data set to cluster around the central measure. When this is represented in a graphical form, such as a bar chart, it forms a normal distribution or bell-shaped curve with the cluster around the centre and extreme values on either side of the cluster (see Figure 11.1). In any normal distribution the mean, median and mode are all equivalent. It is not uncommon in a normal distribution for 95 per cent of values to be within two standard deviations of the mean, and 99.73 per cent to be within three standard deviations of the mean. If we know, therefore, that the mean age of students in our sample is 21.2 years and the standard deviation of our sample is 2.4, then 95 per cent of all our sample will be aged between 19.2 and 24. So values of 19 and 24 could reasonably be classed as abnormal in that only 1 in 20 of the sample will be either so young or so old. When we measure we assign a true value to something in order to make comparisons. If we buy some cheese from the supermarket we understand that the weight of

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300 250

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the cheese is directly related to the price we will pay. To do this we need a measuring device that we can trust. We know the true height of a person because we trust the reading we get from a tape measure; likewise we know our weight because we trust the scales. However, with any form of measurement errors can occur, for example, weighing scales do not always operate perfectly. Some errors are random errors such as placing the scales on an uneven floor before we stand on them, but some errors are unknown systematic errors. In terms of social research, unknown systematic errors can be caused by a researcher using an inappropriate measuring device or classifying observations in a manner that will affect the outcome. Many unknown systematic errors have their roots in random events but many others are rooted in the researcher’s theoretical stance, pre-existing attitudes or biases.

Classification Classification is the process of inventing categories, the process of fitting raw data – such as our observations or the responses we get to any questions we ask – into categories. When the categories are assigned numbers or letters they are called codes. All categories have to have boundaries. Some category boundaries are obvious – the categories female and male are sound for classifying biological sex. However, other forms of classification are less obvious, such as social class or the classification of achiever and non-achiever.

Measurement

Measurement Measurement is the categorising or classification of social and physical phenomena. In everyday life people distinguish between different things, such as religions, different types of house, different modes of transport, different towns and cities etc. People also rank things. A customer may prefer Brand X to Brand Y. We often use pounds (£) and pence to compare income, miles to compare distance and degrees to compare temperatures. Measurement is a procedure for classifying individuals, groups or other units and putting them into previously defined categories. It is important to note at this stage that many very interesting and important research projects involve simply identifying the central tendency in some aspect of the life of the sample the researchers have selected and drawing an inference or giving a reasoned account of why most people in the sample think, feel or act in a common way. It is possible to differentiate two distinct forms of measurement: 1. index measurement, and 2. representational measurement. In addition, we will also consider composite measurement.

Index measurement Index measurement takes place when the categories of a measurement scale do not allow exact reconstruction of reality. For example, I might be doing some shopping in a garden centre and I have to reflect on if I have enough strength to carry the things I have bought from the checkout to the car. In this case, although I do not know the exact weights of objects I can still classify them as heavy, medium and light even though I cannot determine the exact weight. According to Dawes (1972) we have a two-way correspondence between: 1. some property of things being measured, and 2. some property of the measurement scale. With index measurement, observations are classified in terms of numbers on an arbitrary scale. However, with representational measurement, the system of numbers we use – the measurement scale – corresponds to a set of concrete or real relations among the things being measured. The procedure for index measurement is the same as in this example.

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Example We could choose to scale the height of children by describing them as: very tall (5), fairly tall (4), medium (3), fairly small (2), very small (1). You can allocate each child to an appropriate category and then describe the children’s height in terms of the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The problem with this form of scaling is that one person might allocate half the children to the ‘very tall category’ whereas another might place only one child in this category.

Representational measurement With representational measurement we could use a tape measure to measure the heights of the children. The set of numbers on the tape measure is made up of standard units on a standard scale and this corresponds exactly to the differences in height between the children. This means that we can state specifically, using standard units, by how much one child is bigger or smaller than another.

Likert scaling method When we use a Likert scale (Likert 1932) of, for example, people’s opinions about a particular issue or topic, different opinions are given a numerical code or score. Let us say that we are interested in measuring people’s opinion on smoking. We could ask people to comment on the following statement by ticking a box from 1 to 5 that most closely matched their opinion: ‘Smoking is a dangerous habit.’ Strongly agree (5), Agree on the whole (4), No opinion (3), Disagree on the whole (2), Strongly disagree (1) Question Would you classify Likert scaling as index or representational measurement? Give reasons for your answers.

Composite measurement A number of variables such as age, sex and occupation, are generally accepted as standalone items of measurement. In other words, one response to one question is enough

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to give us a valid response. However, because most of the questions we are interested in exploring are more complex, a single response to a question or opinion item is often not regarded as an accurate or full representation of the respondent’s view. It is here that composite measurement is used. Composite measurement is the bringing together of responses into sets to form a single scale or composite measure. The most commonly cited example of composite measurement is the retail price index (RPI): the price of one product can be used to measure the rate of inflation, but adding together the price of a range of commonly used goods and services will give a more valid picture. Composite measurement is assumed to provide more valid data because it gives a more complete picture of the variables the researchers are measuring. It is important that researchers choose the most effective indicators that they can find because this allows us to conduct the least number of observations but still produce valid results. The underpinning logic of this approach is found in the idea of scientific parsimony.

Scientific parsimony Scientific parsimony is a basic principle in science that we can apply to our research. The idea is based upon the assumption that where it is possible to explain something equally adequately in different ways then the simplest explanation should be selected. By ‘simplest’ we mean the explanation that is based upon the smallest number of variables and indicators. We may still need a wide range of indicators to ensure that a variable has been operationalised adequately. Operationalisation is a key process in social science research: it is the process of selecting a thing that a researcher calls the indicator, which is a characteristic of a variable the researcher has selected. The indicator has to be in a form that can be easily identified, categorised and measured. The aim is to encapsulate the variable that lies behind the indicators with a single composite score. This might involve using a large number of different but internally consistent questions to obtain a reliable measure of the variable we are interested in.

Example Imagine that you are a researcher who is asked to investigate the attitude of a worker, say a painter and decorator, to their job. What aspects of work do you think should be considered? Your list might include: s s s s

TASKSINVOLVEDINTHEWORK WORKINGCONDITIONS SUMMERnWINTERINDOORSnOUTDOORS HOURSOFWORK SHIFTWORK RELATIONSHIPSWITHCOLLEAGUES

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It might also be necessary to consider each variable’s relative importance as indicators of the construct ‘attitude to job’. Question What is the goal of all these different measurement strategies? Answer To maximise the validity of the measurement.

Why do we construct categories? Researchers construct categories to display variations with respect to some variable. However, researchers have to be confident that the measuring instrument they choose to use actually measures the indicators of the variables they have chosen effectively. Before we move on it is important to note that there are many social scientists who question our ability to effectively measure anything within the social sciences. Consider the following example: ‘the crucial limit to the successful application of variable analysis to human life is set by the process of interpretation that goes on in human groups. This process, which I believe to be the core of human action, gives character to human group life that seems to be at variance with the logical premises of variable analysis’ (Blumer 1956: 640). For Blumer, measurement is based upon the assumption of social action having one standard and commonly understood meaning whereas social life is made up of both events and the personal and cultural experience of events. This means that any social action can be experienced differently by different people in a range of different contexts. Cicourel (1964) argues that within social science all measurement is measurement by fiat, by which he means measurement by authorisation or decree. In other words, as social scientists we often provide our respondents with both the question and the answers to the question and then simply measure the answers we have already provided to our respondents. The reason why social scientists do this is because social science data are constructed by ordinary everyday language and our categories and classification systems are rooted in common sense that is constantly changing because of people’s redefinition of the situation. Cicourel then goes on to develop a similar argument to that of Blumer: ‘The literal measurement of social acts . . . requires the use of linguistic and non-linguistic meanings that cannot be taken for granted but which must be

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viewed as objects of study. In other words measurement pre-supposes a bounded network of shared meanings ie, a theory of culture. The physical scientist alone defines his observational field, but in social science the arena of discourse usually begins with the subjects preselected and pre-interpreted cultural meanings’ (Cicourel 1964: 14). Measurement in the social sciences is a creative act. Choosing appropriate indicators is not simply an intuitive act, we have to justify the conceptual link between the variable we are using and the indicator we have selected. The indicator must reflect something meaningful and essential about the variable. Social action is not usually in a form that has a numerical quality or that can be directly measured. This means that we have to identify indicators that are in a form that can be measured. Simply stated, social scientists are often interested in using variables that are abstract concepts that cannot be easily or directly measured. This means that we have to find something that is directly linked to the variable that is solid or concrete in nature and that can easily be measured. Hence it is not uncommon for social scientists to identify income as an indicator of social class position as income can be measured with some precision. The variable social class is complicated as it includes self-esteem, authority, skill, power etc. and operates at various levels of social life. Social science researchers assume that as a variable social class can be sub-divided into various parts: income is one important aspect of social class that can be measured, has a numerical quality and patterns can be identified. As Pawson (1989) points out: ‘measurement is not simply a matter of observation but also of conceptualisation’ (Pawson 1989: 40). Characteristics of categories include: s CLEARDElNITIONnTOAVOIDMISCLASSIlCATIONANDENHANCERELIABILITY s MUTUAL EXCLUSIVENESS AND INDEPENDENCE n EACH OBSERVATION CAN BE ALLOCATED TO only one category so in terms of school children this would be nursery, primary or secondary; s EXHAUSTIVENESS n CATEGORIES SHOULD EMBRACE ALL THE POSSIBLE OBSERVATIONS TO BE classified.

Transformation Calibrating data is known as transformation, the process of placing raw data into a category – for example when a teacher has to make a judgement about the quality of a student’s work by transforming the judgement into a percentage or grade such as A, B+, C etc. All transformation involves the degradation of data. In other words, all transformation involves the loss of some information. However, the process of transformation is necessary because without it we would have no way of identifying any meaningful pattern with our collected data.

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Definitions s !variable is any characteristic which has two or more possible categories. s Measurement is the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to rules. s Rules tell us which kind of statistical analysis can be used on a given set of data.

The research process begins with theorising and the identification of key concepts from the theory. These concepts have to be defined specifically before hypotheses can be set up to test. The hypothesis is a proposition that is presented in a testable form, in other words the hypothesis is a statement that predicts the relationship between two or more variables. You might find it useful to recall the points in the example below that were initially made in Chapter 1. Then use these when you attempt the next Thinkpiece.

Example Hypothesis: the greater the workload the higher the level of stress. The hypothesis is linking two concepts: ‘the quantity of work’ and ‘the level of stress’. Each concept is ‘operationalised’ into indicators. The number of work-related tasks completed in one day could measure ‘quantity of work’. Levels of stress could be represented by the number of days absent from work due to stress-related illness. What is the causal relationship between the two variables? In this case, ‘the number of work-related tasks completed in one day’ would be the independent variable and the ‘number of days absent from work due to stress-related illness’ would be the dependent variable. The independent variable is hypothesised to affect the outcome. The dependent variable is presumed to be the effect of the independent variable.

There is still an important issue to address, notably how do we know if the relationship between our variables did not happen by chance or accident? To make a decision about this important issue researchers need to have an understanding of probability.

Probability We need to understand the effect of an independent variable (IV) on a dependent variable (DV) in order to make an appropriate inference about the link between the two variables. But how do we know that the link between our IV and DV has not happened

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by chance? The first step in making an appropriate statistical inference is to have an understanding of the probability that events or variables happen by chance. As a researcher you need to have a consistent strategy for analysing your data. You need to be able to say with confidence if a variable is important or unimportant. Probability allows the researcher to suggest that certain antecedence, or a thing that is believed to precede something in time or order, is then often followed by predicted consequences. The advice ‘don’t drink and drive’ is based upon the probability that if a person drinks alcohol and then drives a car they are more likely to have a road traffic accident than if they had not consumed an alcoholic drink. We eliminate chance by identifying a small probability; but what is it that underpins our unwillingness to attribute highly improbable events to chance? Frequency is at the heart of statistical reasoning. If an event is more likely to occur when a property is present then we assume that there is a link between the property, the frequency of an event and its probability. This connection between the frequency of an event and its probability is never conclusively verifiable or refutable. After all, a great many improbable events happen every day. Sheer improbability by itself is not enough to eliminate chance. We need to identify if the event was brought about by an extra probabilistic factor and to do this we need to examine if the event was part of a wider pattern of events. Calculating probability allows the researcher to talk about the likelihood, or the degree of certainty, or chance of an event taking place. This means that there is still an element of doubt in our analysis, you will never be absolutely certain.

Example If we believe that smoking causes lung cancer (smoking is our IV and cancer is our DV) then we know that not all smokers develop lung cancer and we also know that some non-smokers do develop lung cancer. Before we can draw an inference between our IV (smoking) and our (DV) lung cancer we have to calculate the probability of a smoker developing lung cancer and compare this to the probability of a non-smoker developing lung cancer. This means that when we calculate probability we first need to find out the possibility of the outcome occurring at random.

There are three types of probability that have been identified: 1. subjective probability, 2. logistical probability, 3. empirical probability.

Subjective probability This is when we make a prediction that something may happen on the basis of our subjective understanding or feeling state. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to watch the

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football team I support play at home. On the basis of current form and results I have a feeling that they are going to win. Although subjective probability cannot be used as evidence to support a given inference it would be wrong to dismiss this form of reasoning from the research process. Subjective probability is central to successful explanation building because without it there would be little opportunity for academic innovation. Subjective probability is very good at helping the researcher generate a hypothesis known as an heuristic device: this is central to developing hypotheses that can be tested in a more systematic manner.

Logical probability This is when we make formal predictions on the basis of mathematical theory. If a person is successful at games of chance, such as card games, it is probably because of their understanding of logical probability. If you want to predict the chance of the next card from the pack being the one that you need then you need to have an understanding of logical probability. To be able to successfully predict you need to have an understanding of the ratio of the number of cards in the pack that you need to complete your hand successfully to the total number of cards left in the pack. For example, if you wanted to predict the probability of an ace been drawn from a pack of 52 cards then you need to understand that there are 52 cards in that pack of which four are aces. This gives us a 1 in 13 change of selecting an ace as the first card to be drawn from the pack.

Empirical probability This is when we calculate approximately the likelihood of an outcome taking place on the basis of what we know about such outcomes from the past. If I want to calculate the empirical probability of my football team winning on Saturday I need to complete the following calculation. P is the probability of the team winning. P=

Number of games that the team have won this season Total number of games played this season so far

The probability of an outcome occurring is measured on a scale from 0 to 1. The 0 indicates that the outcome never occurs and the 1 indicates that it always occurs. How do we decide if an outcome is the product of a random error rather than a consequence of our independent variable? The first step is to estimate the probability that a random error could produce the outcome. It is a fact that my team have not won every game this season but it is also a fact that they have not lost every game this season. So will my team win on Saturday? There are two possible outcomes: either yes they will (A) or no they won’t (B). The probability is then calculated as:

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P(A) + P(B) Because there are two possible outcomes we calculate the probability of the team winning as 0.5 and the probability of not winning as 0.5. The chance of them winning or not winning is therefore, 0.5 + 0.5 = 1. If my team have played 29 games so far this season and their home results are: Won Drew Lost Goals for Goals against 7 3 4 29 29 and their away results are: Won Drew Lost Goals for Goals against 5 7 3 25 23 then with this information we can calculate the probability of the team winning, losing or drawing at home or away. This information then allows us to investigate the effect on the team’s performance of a particular player. If a particular striker is playing does the team score more goals? Win more games? If a particular defender is playing does the team concede fewer goals and win more games? The contribution of a particular player can be treated as the independent variable and the results as the dependent variable. In the case of my team they have a 0.5 probability of winning rather than not winning tomorrow. Traditionally if a IV has a 0.05 effect on the outcome we assume that this is highly significant. Therefore if we calculate that a particular player has a 0.05 effect on the outcome of the game their contribution is highly significant because there is only a 1 in 20 chance that the result (outcome) is a random effect.

Thinkpiece Classroom observation is one of the tools used by Ofsted to judge the quality of teaching. Question Is it possible to measure the quality of teaching by observation? Compile a list of arguments for and against. Assessment criteria provide a set of indicators for judging the quality of a student’s assignment and for transforming the quality of the work into a percentage mark or grade. Questions 1. Can you think of any problems that might emerge in this process? 2. Is the link between the mark given and the personal judgement of the marker always a significant factor in the allocation of a grade?

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Scales of measurement Within the social sciences there are different ways or levels in which data can be measured. A scale of measurement is a set of categories into which our observations or responses to questions can be placed. The four most commonly used scales of measurement are: s s s s

NOMINAL ORDINAL INTERVAL RATIO

A nominal scale is the simplest form of measurement; a variable is divided into two or more categories, for example: s MALEORFEMALE s NORTH SOUTH EASTORWEST s DOYOUOWNACARYESORNO Each of the categories on the nominal scale is exhaustive: this means that each category used is different from another. We do this so that the categories can discriminate. With a nominal scale there is no implication of order or preference – simply a difference. In other words, female and male are different and we are not suggesting that one is better than the other. This characteristic of the ability to discriminate by classification is fundamental to all scales of measurement. The ordinal scale has all the properties of a nominal scale, but – in addition – categories can be ordered along a continuum.

Example Take three categories: A, B and C. We could say that A is greater than B, and B is greater than C. Criteria such as larger than, bigger than, more important than, more beautiful, more hostile, cleaner, more intelligent etc. can be used. We can then apply a numeral to a category: 3>2>1

Ordinal scales allow us to distinguish an order – but the distance between the categories is not known.

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The interval scale of measurement has all the characteristics of an ordinal scale but, in addition, its categories are defined in terms of standard units of measurement. In other words, the distances between or intervals between categories can be measured in terms of the units. This means that a number can be assigned to an object that equals the number of units of measurement that is equivalent to the amount of the property possessed. In formal terms A, B and C are distinct categories A>B>C (A − B) = (B − C) or A − C = 2 (B − C) However, in an interval scale there is no absolute zero point; the zero point can be placed anywhere along the continuum. This means that we can add or subtract but we cannot multiply or divide. The ratio scale has all the characteristics of the interval scale but in addition ratio scales have a fixed zero: for example, no children or no income. This means that we can use all the usual arithmetical operations on such data. A family with two children, for example, has twice as many children as a family with one child. Ratio scales use continuous and discrete variables. A discrete variable is one which can take only a limited number of distinct values, scores or categories: for example the number of children in a family. The numbers or units that are used are integers, i.e. must be whole numbers. (For example, children can’t be divided into bits!) In contrast, a continuous variable can be a fractional or decimal value between any two integers. Scaling is based upon the assumption that it is possible to apply simple set theory from mathematics to social life in order to measure something meaningful. In mathematics, a set is simply defined as all cases that share the property or element we are interested in, and these cases are included as a set within a pair of brackets. If I am interested in compiling a set of X then I simply include X1, X2, X3, X4 . . . Xn within a set of brackets, so that X = {X1, X2, X3, X4 . . . Xn}. X is easily identifiable from other elements such as Y and the set or classification is a product of the element X.

Example If I was asked by the university to count the number of chairs contained within each department then this would be as simple as creating the set of X above. Each department is clearly identified and I have a clear understanding of what qualities a piece of furniture labelled as a chair has. This allows me simply to walk from building to building counting chairs as I go. If I was asked to measure how efficiently people worked within each department this would not be so easy.

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In social research we will usually have to use a number of indicators to measure the variable we are interested in. We choose the best indicators because on the basis of our understanding of the field, including the published research, we can make a reasoned argument that our indicators will be fit for purpose. In his discussion of identifying a suitable indicator for the concept of efficiency at work Lazarsfeld (1977) points to the fact that speed is an important criterion but it is not the only one. Working at speed may increase the number of errors, accidents or the amount of spoilage. For Lazarsfeld the researcher has to break the concept of efficiency down into its component parts, which gives us the following dimensions: speed, safe use of machines and equipment, good quality output. People’s responses to questions are separate and independent from the classification systems that we choose to use unless we can identify a common element in each response and use this common element to legitimately allocate the response to a category. If we ask people their opinion about an issue and then produce a chart that contains a grouped or aggregated frequency distribution of their responses, this is known as ‘scaling first-order meanings’. The use of ‘scaling first-order meanings’ suggests that there is a correspondence or meaningful relationship between verbal responses and the numbers we use. The way in which we choose to group or aggregate people’s responses is not a product of the responses given but something that we as researchers have imposed onto people’s responses.

Complete inference How do we come to have knowledge? One method is by sense experience: we can see, hear, touch and smell things. However, we can still make mistakes or have hallucinations. In other words, we can make perceptual errors in that we come to the wrong conclusion about what we have experienced via our sense organs. On my first visit to the Pompidou Centre in Paris I spent a long time wandering around the building enjoying the art on display. After some time I became tired and wanted to sit down and rest. In the middle of a gallery space there was a collection of unoccupied chairs. I had to spend some time making a decision as to whether the chairs were for tired visitors or an artistic installation. I was clear in my mind that what I could see were chairs but my fear was that my perceptual judgement was incorrect. All external sense experiences require judgement. The things that we perceive around us appear to speak for themselves but this is not the case: there is always a judgement involved. In addition, people also have internal senses or feeling states, moods and emotions, such as fear, regret, anxiety, joy or pain, such as a headache. Again our internal senses or feeling states may be in error: you may mistake love for infatuation or lust. Our internal senses or feeling states can be explored by a process known as introspection.

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Producing knowledge from research findings Central to acquiring knowledge is the process we call reasoning or the ability to think. There are two distinct forms of reasoning in social science research: 1. Deductive reasoning – where we start with a premise to develop an argument that logically follows from the premise and supports it, finally reaching a conclusion. 2. Inductive reasoning – where we collect data and attempt to identify a pattern or recurring uniformities within the data and construct an argument that suggests a conclusion. People also have faith, convictions, intuitions or beliefs about the world and how it works – can such convictions be used to support a knowledge claim? To form the basis of a valid knowledge claim such convictions or beliefs must be transformed into one or more propositions: that is statements that are in a form that can be investigated and upon which a judgement can be made by the use of a reliable validating procedure. Two activities that appear to be central to our cognitive or thinking lives are explaining and inferring.

Inference Inference takes place when individuals make a judgement based upon some information. We make inferences all of the time in our everyday lives. If I cannot go to a football match on Saturday I will often ring up my son after the game, not only find out the result but also to hear his comments about how well the team played and what were the factors that shaped the game. In terms of social science research methods not only do I want to know the outcome but I also want to have an explanation as to how and why the team won or lost. Inference is the process of arriving at a conclusion; in other words, it is the process we go through in an effort to produce a justification or a defensible conclusion to the question we are investigating. Inference takes place when we make a judgement based upon some evidence and as such it is integral to the production of information. However, as researchers we usually face a surplus of explanations and we need to give full and informed reasons as to why the conclusion we put forward is better than the alternatives, given the evidence that we have available to us. Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003) define inference as: ‘a researcher’s construction of the relationships among people, events, and variables as well as his or her construction of respondents’ perceptions, behaviors, and feelings and how these relate to each other in a coherent and systematic manner’ (Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003: 692).

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Although drawing an appropriate inference is one of the most important aspects of the research process the characteristics, or stages, that the research has to go through in the process of making them is often not directly addressed in research methods texts. Some researchers may confuse data with the results or findings of a research project. Drawing an appropriate inference is the stage between data collection and presenting a explanation of the meaning of the results or findings of a research project. This means that there is an explanationist pattern to the process of drawing an inference. The important question here is what makes one explanation better than another?

Deductive inference A deductive inference starts with a given theory and the researcher actively seeks evidence to support or refute that theory. This type of explanation building in the social sciences involves moving from a premise, conjecture or presupposition via a reasoned interpretation of the evidence to a considered opinion about the outcome. Logic is used to create or uncover a good inference. A statement is assumed to be correct if there is a sound argument that connects a premise to a conclusion. As social scientists we assume that the premises of all good and sound arguments are true. Premises can often be selected for political or ideological reasons that give us a very clear idea of what the outcome of our research is going to be before we start the data collection or analysis. A faulty premise or faulty theory will lead to a faulty inference or conclusion. The deductive approach follows a clear logic in which a premise suggests something about the pattern we will find within our data and the conclusion we should reach.

Inductive inference In contrast, inductive inference involves data collection in the first instance and once the data collection is complete, looking at the data for patterns, followed by suggesting an appropriate explanation for the perceived pattern in the data. The problem here is that we are all educated people who have knowledge of research in the field we are investigating. We are aware of the approach taken by other more experienced researchers in the field, their research practice and the conclusions they have reached. Their justifications for choosing one inference rather than another will guide the problems we select to investigate, our data collection methods and our conclusions. Inductive inference is often personal and very little is known about the intuitive creative process involved in theory construction. Sociologists, in particular, do not make discoveries but they do create theoretical or conceptual inventions. As Baldamus clearly states: ‘there are no known sociological discoveries’ (1976: 25). He gives his reader the example of our conception of ‘society’ which he describes as nothing but an invention of the mind. It follows that because our conception of society is an invention then nothing can be discovered about it. Even when our inventions, such as social

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class, are treated as real things, external to the individual, they remain inventions rather than discoveries.

The notion of validity The notion of validity is concerned with the link between premise and conclusion. We can say that an argument is valid if there is a strong and clearly articulated link between premise and conclusion. However, a valid argument can be based upon a false premise and as such valid arguments do not guarantee the truth of a conclusion.

Justification We may have a compulsion to accept our own deductive premise or favourite theory but we need to have a justification for how and why we have made the link between the data we have collected and the inference we have made. That justification should be principled and those principles should be readily available for the reader of your research project to follow your logic. In other words, you should provide a clear outline of your inferential methods. Justification involves giving an account that the arguments we present are valid and the process we use to get from data to inference is reliable. We use the term underdetermination to describe an inadequate link between data presented and inference drawn or if the inference drawn is not supported by the arguments and evidence presented.

Inference: the central component Inference is the central component of explanation building. It is the key process that allows researchers to make sense of the data they have collected and say something meaningful in a concluding statement.

Correlations, causes and mechanisms Paul Thagard (1998) asks the question: why do people get sick? Medical explanation is very complex, because most diseases involve the interplay of multiple factors. He argues that: ‘a disease explanation is best thought of as a causal network instantiation, where a causal network describes the interrelations among multiple factors, and instantiation consists of observational or hypothetical assignment of factors to the patient

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whose disease is being explained. Explanation of why members of a particular class of people (women, lawyers, and so on) tend to get a particular disease is also causal network instantiation, but at a more abstract level’ (1998: 61). The first stage in explanation building in relation to why people get a particular disease usually begins by identifying an association between the disease and possible causal factors. Drawing upon Proctor’s research (1995: 27–28) Thagard explains that as far back as the eighteenth century people had identified rough correlations between cancer and various practices: using snuff and nose cancer, pipe smoking and lip cancer, chimney sweeping and scrotum cancer, and being a nun and breast cancer. Cheng (1997) developed the theory of the ‘power PC’ to explain how people infer causal powers from probabilistic information. Cheng suggests that when people infer the causes of events, they use an intuitive notion of causal power to explain observed correlations. She characterises correlation (covariation) in terms of probabilistic contrasts: how much more probable is an effect given a cause than without the cause? In other words, causal powers are used to provide a theoretical explanation of a correlation. To estimate the causal power we need to take into account alternative possible causes. According to Hennekens and Buring, a causal association is one in which a ‘change in the frequency or quality of an exposure or characteristic results in a corresponding change in the frequency of the disease or outcome of interest’ (1987: 30). Elwood says that ‘a factor is a cause of an event if its operation increases the frequency of the event’ (1988: 6). Hennekens and Buring explain that ‘the belief in the existence of a cause and effect relationship is enhanced if there is a known or postulated biologic mechanism by which the exposure might reasonably alter the risk of the disease’ (1987: 40). Moreover, ‘for a judgment of causality to be reasonable, it should be clear that the exposure of interest preceded the outcome by a period of time consistent with the proposed biological mechanism’ (1987: 42). Thus according to Hennekens and Buring, epidemiologists do and should ask mechanism-related questions about biologic credibility and time sequence. For Thagard (1998) mechanism considerations are also often relevant to assessing medical causality. Thagard defines a mechanism as a system of parts that transmit forces, motion and energy from one part of a machine to another such as levers, pulleys and wheels. In terms of the human body as a mechanical system, mechanisms are organised hierarchically, in that lower level mechanisms such as molecules generate changes at a higher level such as cells: ‘There are over a hundred different kinds of cancer, but all are now thought to result from uncontrolled cell growth arising from a series of genetic mutations, first in genes for promoting growth (oncogenes) and then in genes for suppressing the tumors that are produced by uncontrolled cell growth. The mechanism of cancer production then consists of parts at two levels – cells and the genes they contain, along with changes in cell growth produced by a series of genetic mutations.

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Mutations in an individual can occur for a number of causes, including heredity, viruses, and behavioral and environmental factors such as smoking, diet, and exposure to chemicals’ (Thagard 1998: 67–8). Ahn explains that when people are asked to suggest causes for why a given incident has taken place, they will look for information about underlying causal mechanisms rather than simply looking for correlations. For example, if people are asked to suggest a reason why a car accident took place, they will not consider all the possible factors that correlate with accidents, if the driver was drunk (Ahn et al. 1995; Ahn and Bailenson 1996). The emphasis on mechanism does not by itself provide an answer to the question of how people infer cause from correlation. For Thagard (1998) to understand how reasoning about mechanisms affects reasoning about causes, we need to consider four different situations that arise in science and ordinary life when we are considering whether a factor c is a cause of an event e: ‘1. There is a known mechanism by which c produces e. 2. There is a plausible mechanism by which c produces e. 3. There is no known mechanism by which c produces e. 4. There is no plausible mechanism by which c produces e’ (Thagard 1998: 68). His argument continues and is worth quoting at length: ‘For there to be a known mechanism by which c produces e, c must be a component of or occurrence in a system of parts that is known to interact to produce e. Only very recently has a precise mechanism by which smoking causes cancer become known through the identification of a component of cigarette smoke (Benzo[a]pyrene) that produces mutations in the tumor suppresser gene p53 (Denissenko et al., 1996). As we saw above, however, there has long been a plausible mechanism by which smoking causes lung cancer. When there is a known mechanism connecting c and e, the inference that c causes e is strongly encouraged, although careful causal inference will still need to take into account information about correlations and alternative causes, since a different mechanism may have produced e by an alternative cause a. For example, drunk driving often produces erratic driving that produces accidents, but even if John was drunk his accident might have been caused by a mechanical malfunction rather than his drunkenness’ (Thagard 1998: 69). The inference a researcher draws from any data collected has to contain an explanation of why they feel that their explanation presented in the research report is better than any other explanation published in the field. To do this we have to have identified a plausible underlying mechanism. If we are aware of a known and credible mechanism that connects c with e then this will allow us to speculate that we can infer that c causes e. In addition, our inference becomes more plausible if the mechanism we have

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identified is known to be similar to another cause and effect mechanism in a similar case to the one we are investigating. In other words, if our inference is compatible with what is already known on the basis of other research then our inference will appear to be more valid. However, this is often more complicated in the social sciences than in the natural sciences because in the former we are often involved in making an inference about theoretical and non-observable relationships. If our inference is not compatible with what is known then it is much less likely to be accepted by people who read our research. When Marshall and Warren, for example first argued that stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria this was rejected by the scientific community because the common assumption was that the stomach was too acidic for bacteria to survive for any length of time. It was only much later that it was found that the bacterium H. pylori produces sufficient ammonia to neutralise stomach acid allowing the ulcer to develop. Similarly, Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift was not accepted by the scientific community until 1960 when plate tectonics became more fully understood: ‘Motives in murder trials are like mechanisms in medical reasoning, providing a non-essential but coherence-enhancing explanation of a hypothesis’ (Thagard 1998: 72).

How to draw an appropriate inference in a research project Inference is often a complex process. One approach is to view the first stage of inference as presenting ‘category knowledge’. By presenting our data as categories this will allow the researcher to identify common features within the data that may not be explicit when looking at one case or observation. Categorisation of the data can take one of any number of forms: s LOOKINGFORTHEMESORPATTERNSWITHTHETRANSCRIPTFROMANINTERVIEW s NUMERICALSUMMARIESFROMASIMPLECONTENTANALYSIS s NUMERICAL SUMMARIES OF MEASURED INDICATORS OF OUR VARIABLES BY INFERENTIAL statistics. An inference can be viewed as a mini-theory or explanation for a relationship with the data that a researcher has collected. This mini-theory explains some aspect of the relationships within the data set on the basis of our research questions. The researcher needs to ask: does the data analysis effectively answer the research questions that the research project set out to investigate? For an inference to be sound the researcher needs to be in a position to defend the design of the processes of data collection and data analysis. Sound data collection will produce sound findings. Have the data been interpreted in a rigorous and comprehensive manner? Can the researcher write a justification that their preferred interpretation of the meaning of the data is more convincing than the alternative accounts or theories? If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’ then an appropriate or plausible explanation or inference has been drawn.

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SPSS You may be one of those people who have difficulty working through formulae and calculations. SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Scientist, is ideal for researchers who do not fully understand the formulae they are using, how to complete the calculations or interpret the meaning or significance of their calculations. SPSS can be used to generate frequencies, graphical data and test for significance from the researcher’s data. It would be very time consuming to talk the reader through all the stages of how to use SPSS effectively. Luckily there a number of very good books on the market. Langdridge and Hagger-Johnson in their book Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology (2009) have seven chapters dealing with SPSS that starts with turning on the computer and ends with how to conduct multiple regression and factor analysis. The chapters on SPSS are suitable for all social science researchers. You do not need to have knowledge of Psychology to understand and make use of what the authors have to say. The first stage in the planning process is to plan a codebook. The researcher needs to define the variables they are going to use, then identify the indicators that they feel reflect change in the variables and finally assign a numerical value to each indicator. But what does this all mean? One of the big problems that first-time researchers experience is that their questionnaire or interview is not in a form that is suitable to be used with SPSS. If you wish to use SPSS you need to plan your questions very carefully. All possible answers to all questions have to be coded. This means that all possible answers have to be given a numerical value. A simple example would be: are you male or female? You could code male as (1) and female as (2). Closed questions of this form are easy to code but many of the questions social scientists want to ask are much more demanding and as researchers we are uncertain of the range of responses we are going to receive from our respondents. If the researcher is in the position that they do not know all the possible responses they may receive then ‘open’ questions can be asked. The use of open questions requires the researcher to post-code the responses; i.e. bring together all the responses that are similar and give them one numerical code. If the researcher is interested in conducting an analysis that involves finding correlations then data must be collected in a continuous form, such as in a Likert scale. When the researcher opens SPSS and chooses to open the Data Editor window in order to create a new data file, the program will ask them to enter the variables that are to be used in the research project. Each variable has to be given a name and the names used should be sufficiently different so that at a later stage the researcher can identify one variable from another. It is important to keep a record of all variables used, the names that the researcher has given to all the variables, the indicators for all variables and the numerical values given.

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Conclusion Without a very full and convincing justification as to why specific indicators were chosen and why given observations or responses were allocated to a given category, the scale that you use can be described as arbitrary, contrived, unreliable and invalid. Arbitrary measurement practices produce arbitrary research findings, so we must accept that our operationalisation of variables has to be theory dependent. We need to have a theory to decide what is and what is not an appropriate indicator and for this reason data forms take their shape from the theories we employ. Simply stated, as researchers we need to have a clear and well-justified account of the link or relationship between the variables we use and the indicators we use. In addition, we draw an appropriate inference from the findings we gather because the theories we use allow us to encode the data in a particular way. It is the theories we use that allow us to see a pattern in the data we collect. Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica make more use of measurement and statistical inference in her research project? Erica’s friend Jenna is also doing the zoo research project, but unlike Erica, Jenna is not impressed with research methods that involve exploring narratives, or understanding meaning and feeling states or the exploration of self. She tries to convince Erica that the valid data needed for her research project can be found by simply counting the number of education officers each zoo employs and the number of people that each education officer comes into contact with in presentations or demonstrations that focus on biodiversity and sustainability. Jenna explains that we simply have to assume that the education officers know their stuff and therefore if a zoo employs an education officer it has fulfilled its legal obligation. While Erica can see what Jenna is doing – which is a very valid method – she decides not to follow this approach for her own project.

Bibliography Ahn, W., Kalish, C.W., Medin, D.L. and Gelman, S.A. (1995) ‘The role of covariation vs. mechanism information in causal attribution’, Cognition, 54: 299–352. Ahn, W. and Bailenson, J. (1996) ‘Causal attribution as a search for underlying mechanisms: An explanation of the conjunction fallacy and the discounting principle’, Cognitive Psychology, 31: 82–123.

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Baldamus, V. (1976) The Structure of Sociological Inference, London: Martin Robertson. Blumer, H. (1956) ‘Sociological analysis and the “Variable”’, American Sociological Review, 21(6): 683–90. Cheng, P.W. (1997) ‘From Covariation to Causation: A Causal Power Theory’, Psychological Review, 104: 367–405. Cicourel, A. (1964) Method and Measurement in Sociology, New York: Free Press. Dawes, R.M. (1972) Fundamentals of attitude measurement, New York: Wiley. Denissenko, M.F., Pao, A., Tang, M.S. and Pfeifer, G.P. (1996) ‘Preferential formation of benzo[a]pyrene adducts at lung cancer mutational hotspots in p53’, Science, 274: 430–32. Elwood, M. (1988) Causal relations in medicine: A practical guide for critical appraisal, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hennekens, C.H. and Buring, J.E. (1987) Epidemiology in Medicine, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Lazarsfeld, P.F. (1977) ‘Notes on the History of Quantification in Sociology – Trends, Sources and Problems’, in S.M. Kendall and R.L. Plackett (eds) Studies in the History of Statistics and Probability, London: Hodder Arnold. Langdridge, D. and Hagger-Johnson, G. (2009) Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology, Harlow: Pearson Education. Likert, R. (1932) ‘A technique for the measurement of attitudes’, Archives of Psychology, 140. Pawson, R. (1989) A Measure for Measures: A manifesto for empirical sociology, London: Routledge. Proctor, R.N. (1995) Cancer Wars: How Politics Shapes What We Know and Don’t Know about Cancer, New York: Basic Books. Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (2003) Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Thagard, P. (1998) ‘Ethical Coherence’, Philosophical Psychology, 11(4): 405–22.

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Introduction In the social sciences when we use the word survey we mean that we are in interested in collecting information in a systematic manner about a given population. The most popular methods for the collection of survey data over the years have been by postal questionnaire, structured interview and focus group. Surveys can range from the very simple description of frequency counts to complex analysis; from the very local analysis of, for example, one secondary school to national or even international comparisons of educational systems. In all cases, researchers are interested in finding patterns, regularities, similarities and differences within and between the population they are interested in and in relation to the wider society, perhaps in order to identify causal relationships or predictive patterns of behaviour. In order to do this we have to be systematic. If we choose to use a questionnaire, our sample has to be representative of the population we are interested in. Our data collection will involve asking every person in our sample the same questions, using the same words, in the same order so

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that any differences that are identified are a product of real differences between people in the population and not as a result of the way we have collected our data. This chapter will explain what researchers understand by a sample survey and the difference between a descriptive survey and an analytical survey. Many of the issues that survey researchers face will be explored, such as what makes a good questionnaire design, what the characteristics of effective questions are, whether questionnaires can be used to survey people’s attitudes and feelings towards sensitive issues, and ethical issues that might emerge in the course of the data collection process. Different types of sampling will be explained. Although it is good practice to have a representative sample of the population you are interested in, how do you ensure that your sample is representative and importantly how can you conduct a valid and reliable research project when it is not possible to use a representative sample? The chapter includes a discussion of the work of the Institute of Community Studies (now the Young Foundation). Although this research is now very old it was very influential both in academic circles and in terms of public policy. This is surprising given that the researchers did not use representative samples of the population but what is valuable to us is the open and honest way in which they explain how and why the Institute selected its samples from the population.

How the social survey began The social survey has a long history in British social science going back to the late Victorian and Edwardian period with Charles Booth’s studies of poverty in London (1892) and Seebohm Rowntree’s studies of poverty in York (1901). Sampling techniques in social science research were first developed by Arthur Bowley (1915, 1937) in his investigation of primary poverty and inequality in Northern towns prior to the First World War. This type of research had a significant impact on social policy in the twentieth century leading to Board of Trade investigations (British Parliamentary Papers 1903, 1905 and 1912) into the cost of food, accommodation and the standard of living amongst working class people. In these large studies of poverty the use of the sample survey allowed the researchers to draw an inference about the extent of poverty in the UK by investigating a relatively small group of people who are assumed to be representative of the wider population. It was assumed in these research projects that with effective sampling techniques it is possible for a researcher to make reliable statements and draw important inferences about large populations.

Planning: how to go about conducting surveys A survey is a research strategy in which the researcher attempts to identify something significant about the population they are interested in by the use of the systematic

What is sampling?

collection of data. As such, survey researchers need a clear set of objectives about what they hope to find and use a method of data collection that allows them to present their data in a standardised or systematic manner. Although a wide range of data collection techniques can be used within a survey, questionnaires and interviews have become the most commonly used because these techniques are generally assumed to be relatively efficient, accurate and cost effective. Ideally in a survey researchers aim to get information from a typical cross selection of the population so that they can claim that the sample is representative of the population as a whole and that the findings are valid. Whatever method of data collection we choose to use it should be fit for purpose: in other words, it should be what we consider to be the most appropriate for fulfilling the objectives of the research project. If the sample we are using is large and we are not asking particularly sensitive questions then standardised questions, in which each respondent is asked exactly the same questions in the same order, are fine and the questionnaire will probably be ideal for our purpose.

Before starting Before starting the data collection process it is important that: s s s s

THERESEARCHERISCLEARABOUTTHETOPICANDINFORMATIONREQUIRED THEQUESTIONSTHERESEARCHERPLANSTOASKARERELEVANTTOTHERESPONDENT THE RESEARCHER SHOULD ASK THE QUESTION IN A FORM THAT THE RESPONDENT CAN UNDERSTAND THE RESEARCHER MUST ELIMINATE ANY COMPLEXITIES SUCH AS JARGON TERMS THAT MIGHT prevent respondents from fully understanding the meaning of the question.

It is widely accepted that if the respondents do not understand what kind of answer is required they are less likely to respond.

The structure of the survey design The structure or design of the questionnaires should be as simple as possible. Closed questions, where the researcher provides the respondent with a question and a set of answers to choose from, are assumed to be useful in providing respondents with some structure to their answers. In contrast open questions, where the researcher provides the respondent with a question but allows them to answer the question in their own words, lets the respondent give much fuller answers and potentially provide more complete or valid responses.

What is sampling? After a day at college or university going to lectures and seminars you may decide to treat yourself to a magazine. You notice that one magazine is giving away a free sample

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of shampoo and conditioner. The word sample in free sample has the same meaning as the word sample in sample survey. You can reasonably assume that the small amount of shampoo and conditioner that came free with the magazine is representative (in that it has all the same characteristics) as the contents of a large bottle of the same product.

Why use a sample of the population? For most researchers the population they are interested in is far too big to survey all the members. So for the practical purposes of saving time and money we select a sample from the wider population that you are interested in. The first stage of any sampling process is to define clearly the population that you are interested in. In everyday language people use the term ‘population’ to refer to the total number of inhabitants of a country. However, in social science research population refers to the group of people that you are interested in surveying. The researcher needs to have a very clear and unambiguous definition of the population they are interested in surveying; there needs to be very clear population parameters or characteristics that define who is in the target population and who is not. Are the researchers interested in people who live in a particular location, and/or a particular age group, racial group, gender etc? As a researcher you need to make it clear to the person reading the research report who is included in your population and who is not, and be able to explain why some categories of people are excluded from your population.

Ensuring the sample is representative Once you have defined the population you are interested in you need to decide on how you intend to identify a representative sample from the population. If we can identify a representative sample then we can reasonably assume that the responses given to us by the respondents are representative of all people in the population. But how do we ensure that our sample is representative of the population? You may well have heard of the term random sample. This approach does not mean that as a researcher you should stand on a street corner or some other public place stopping people ‘at random’ because they may look like the type of person you are interested in and asking if they would be willing to answer a few questions. You need to have a clear sampling procedure and this procedure needs to be fully and clearly explained to the recipient of your research.

Random samples In a random sample all people in the population we are interested in have an equal chance of been selected as part of the sample. It is for this reason that many researchers

What is sampling?

refer to the random sample as a probability sample, as all people in the population have an equal probability of being selected for the sample. Probability sampling is a form of sampling that makes use of some form of random selection of a sample from a larger population. It many respects it is like putting all the names of the people we are interested in into a big hat and picking out a number to interview or send a questionnaire to. However, if the researcher selects a name from the hat do they replace the name before selecting a second name or do they choose not to replace the name? The procedure of replacing the name before selecting a second name from the hat is known as random sample with replacement and because the number of names in the hat is always the same before a name is picked then all names in the hat had an equal chance of being selected with each selection made. The problem with this approach is that a name could be selected more than once. The alternative is known as random sample without replacement. With this approach the researcher does not replace a name once it has been selected. However, this means that strictly speaking this approach is not a random sample because as names are removed from the hat the remaining names that are still in the hat have a greater probability or chance of being selected. If you can place all the names of the population into a hat and select in either manner then either approach is regarded as valid and reliable. The use of a sampling procedure that has clearly defined rules for the selection of respondents from the population you are interested in allows the researcher to claim that their research design is reliable because another researcher could replicate or follow the research design.

Sampling frames You do not need to put the names of all the people in your population into a hat, but you do need to be able to identify each person in the population you are interested in. The list of people in your population is known as the sampling frame. One method of conducting a random sample is to select a random number, perhaps by drawing a number out of a hat, and using this number as your sampling interval. The sampling interval is the distance from the first person on your list of names selected to the next name on the list that you select. The random number is used to decide if you are going to select every fifth, tenth or some other number as you work your way down the list. An alternative to using a randomly selected number as your sampling interval is to identify how many people you can reasonably survey – how many interviews you could conduct or questionnaires you can administer – and define this number as your sample size. You then divide up that number by the number of people in your population to give you what is known as the sampling fraction. The sampling fraction will be used to determine your sampling interval. If you can reasonably interview 1 in 20 of the total population then 20 becomes your sampling interval. This sampling procedure outlined above may not produce a sample that is representative of the population we are interested in. If we have a clear idea of the different

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groups of people in the population then we are in a position to say if one or more groups are under- or over-represented in the sample we have collected. If the sample is not representative of the population then our findings will be less valid. To avoid this issue many researchers choose to use a stratified sample. With this approach we divide our population into different strata that we believe are significant to understanding our research aims.

Example If we believe that social class is a significant factor, or gender or race or sexuality, then all of these groupings should be represented in our sample to the same degree that they are found in the population as a whole. This means that if we believe that gender is a stratifying factor and 50 per cent of the population were are interested in is female then 50 per cent of our sample should be female.

Once we have divided our population up according to significant stratifying factors, we then conduct a random sample from each section of the population we are interested in. This procedure sounds simple but it is not. Sampling frames do not always exist and when they do, for a range of legal reasons such as child protection, privacy and confidentiality, the list of names is not available to us. Schools, the health service and government departments will have accurate lists of children’s names, addresses and telephone numbers and as such would make an excellent sampling frame for a research project. However, for very good reasons in relation to child safety this information is not made available to the public.

Cluster sampling Cluster sampling is a form of sampling technique in which the total population that the researcher is interested in surveying is divided into groups that researchers call clusters. With cluster sampling our population is divided into different groups that the researcher believes are significant in terms of their research aims. The researcher then takes a sample from each of these groups. This approach is known as single-stage cluster sampling. However, if we are interested in trying to identify differences within groups, such as different perspectives that women have of a particular issue, then we have to define sub-groups within the larger group and sample from these sub-groups. This approach is known as multi-stage cluster sampling.

What is sampling?

Example If we take an issue such as reform of the National Health Service we might suspect that men and women have different attitudes towards reform, in which case the researcher will take a sample of men and a sample of women from the population. However, we might also suspect that older women’s attitudes are different from younger women’s, in which case the researcher will take a sample of older women and a sample of younger women. In a single-stage cluster sample the sample of women should be proportionate to the size of the group in the whole population we are interested in. So again if 50 per cent of the population are women then 50 per cent of our sample should be women. If we want to engage in multi-stage cluster sampling the size of each of the sub-groups should be proportionate to their size within the group. A key technique here is probability proportionate to size, a technique for selecting the first set of clusters or groups in a survey that involves multi-stage cluster sampling.

Quota sampling If we do not have a sampling frame there is an approach to sampling known as quota sampling that is often used by market research companies. If we know the size of the population we are interested in and the size of the groups and sub-groups we are also interested in, then it is possible to calculate the size of a series of quotas to be the proportion as they are in the whole population. If, for example, we know that 50 per cent of the population is female and within the female population 20 per cent is under 60 but over 30 years of age, we can stand in a public place and stop people who look as if they meet the criteria of the quota we are looking for and survey people who meet our criteria until our quota is full. Although quota sampling is a form of non-probability sampling in that it is a form of sampling that does not involve random selection, it does have a number of advantages in terms of saving time and money as sampling minorities can be expensive. A full quota I was once walking through the centre of Manchester when I was stopped by a market researcher: ‘Would you mind answering a few questions, it won’t take long?’ I was shown a card that had a set of different age groups printed on it and I was asked ‘Which group do you belong to?’ When I responded the market researcher groaned, took the card from my hand and said ‘I have got enough of you already.’ In other words, the market researcher had already surveyed enough men of my age group to fill her quota, and I had been mistakenly identified as a younger or possibly older man than my appearance suggested. I did not ask which!

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Non-probability sampling As researchers we do not always have access to a sampling frame; in some cases no such list of names exists, in other cases it is simply not available to us. If you wanted to survey a deviant group of people in the population, for example a group of people who were engaged in activities that made people treat them as untrustworthy but their actions may not be illegal (those addicted to gambling for example), you could approach a support group established to help this group. Alternatively, you could use informal means such as connections of friends or family to make contact with a person who engages in the deviancy you are interested in studying and ask them if they have any contacts within the deviant population of people who might be willing to participate in your research project. This approach is commonly known as snowball sampling. Nonprobability sampling is any approach to sampling where we cannot say that all the people in the population we are interested in had an equal chance of being selected for our sample. I would prefer to call this approach purposive sampling, because I would suggest to you that if you cannot use probability sampling to select your sample then you should actively seek out people who are from the population you are interested in and who you believe have all the characteristics that are shared within the population.

The Institute of Community Studies Not all surveys involve data collection from large probability samples of the population. There have been many very influential research projects published over the years that have used small, geographically isolated, non-probability samples to produce findings that have influenced both public policy and academic research practice. One such group of researchers is the Institute of Community Studies. Many research methods textbooks give advice to students that they should have well-designed questions if they are conducting questionnaires or structured interviews. In addition, research methods textbooks also give an outline of sampling procedures. However, in recent years published research has tended not to give readers an outline of the questions that were asked in the data collection process nor an outline of the problems that the researchers encountered in finding an appropriate sampling frame or in conducting the sampling procedures. In a number of the books published by members of the Institute of Community Studies full details of the sampling procedures are given together with the problems encountered and solutions decided upon. In addition, the Institute often gave the readers of its research a copy of the questionnaire or interview schedule to read and consider. The next few pages will give a full description of several important studies by members of the Institute of Community Studies and other researchers who have been influenced by its work. The Institute’s work has been very significant in the formation of UK social policy over many years. For our purposes the Institute’s work is important

The Institute of Community Studies

because it clearly defines the questions researchers are interested in; defines the variables they are interested in; gives a sound justification for the indicators they have used to measure their selected variables; clearly explains their sampling procedure; and details problems they encountered in collecting data with their sampling procedure and how the problems were resolved. After the studies have been described there will be a short account of the significance of such research for the first-time researcher.

The Institute of Community Studies A number of surveys of family life and inequality in the twentieth century involved the collection of data from small and intimate groups. The influential Institute of Community Studies was founded in 1954 by Michael Young as a research organisation that was interested in urban inequality and related issues and pioneered the use of localised survey research. The Institute is based in Bethnal Green, London, but in 2005 it was renamed the Young Foundation, in honour of Michael Young. Case 1: The family life of older people The first example of the Institute’s research that I would like to explore is Townsend’s (1957) study of the family life of older people in Bethnal Green. This sits firmly within the Community Studies tradition of social policy research that makes use of the localised survey. Townsend wanted to investigate the assumption that people of pensionable age were becoming isolated from their families and from their communities, and that the family organisation was less enduring than it once was. This research was the first in a series of influential studies of communities in general and Bethnal Green in particular. Townsend’s first stage was to find a list of names of older people in the area. The names of people over retirement age were obtained by random selection from the records of seven GP practices in the area. Medical cards were used as a sampling frame, and every tenth card that referred to a person of pensionable age was selected as part of the sample. 261 people were identified of whom 203 agreed to be interviewed. Twothirds of the sample was female, half of whom were widowed and just under a fifth had no children. The seven practices themselves were selected at random. Townsend describes the interview process as a ‘guided conversation’ in which respondents were asked to provide a ‘kinship diagram’ which gave information about relatives that were in contact with the respondent. Townsend also collected information about health, income, neighbours and friends. What the study tells us as researchers One of the most difficult aspects of any research project is the selection of appropriate indicators for the variable the researcher is attempting to measure. In other words, because our variables are often abstract concepts that are not in a form that can be measured we need to find something called an indicator that

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represents the variable and that is in a form that can be observed and measured. This process is known as operationalisation. One of the innovative elements of Townsend’s study was his attempt to operationalise the concepts of isolation and loneliness. To be isolated is to have few contacts with family or community and according to Townsend this can be measured by reference to objective criteria. In contrast, loneliness is a subjective feeling state. He measured isolation by placing those interviewed on a scale that measured the number of social contacts they had had per day, and then drawing a line below which a person would commonly be assumed to be isolated. By ‘contact’ Townsend meant meeting another person that involved more than an exchange of greetings. He then added together the average number of contacts and gave each contact a score. People who were at the bottom of the scale were usually the older people in the sample, living alone, with no children or relatives living nearby. However, living in relative isolation did not mean that people were lonely. Loneliness was identified with one overriding factor: the recent deprivation of the company of husband, wife or other close relative, usually because of death or serious illness. Desolation rather than isolation was the underlying cause of loneliness in old people. Case 2: Family and kinship in East London Also in 1957 Michael Young and Peter Willmott published their very influential book Family and Kinship in East London. They were interested in the impact on family relationships of the development of a new housing estate several miles away from the area. The Greenleigh estate had been built in Essex by the London County Council to rehouse people, mainly from Bethnal Green, who had lost their old houses in a slum clearance programme. This was a case study of family relationships that drew upon the survey as the instrument of data collection. Bethnal Green was not a collection of individuals, it was an ordered community. However, Willmott and Young (1960) wanted to investigate if the patterns of community living that they had discovered in Bethnal Green, where people were connected by kinship to a wider network of other families and friends within the community, were also to be found elsewhere, especially in middle-class areas. In 1960 they published Family and Class in a London Suburb, which is essentially a reproduction of their Bethnal Green study in the more middle-class areas of Wanstead and Woodford. Thinkpiece What do you think Case 2 tells us as researchers? Case 3: Widowhood Peter Marris’s (1967) study of widowhood attempted to build upon and extend the Young and Willmott research by investigating family relationship in the context of a family tragedy – the death of a husband and father. What is significant about this study is that Marris is of the opinion that the social survey can be used

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to collect data on sensitive subjects. (At the end of this section you might want to reflect on the suitability of Marris’s methods of data collection for the question he had set himself.) The number of widows in Bethnal Green was not large enough to provide a reasonable sized sample so it was necessary for Marris to expand the survey population to include neighbouring areas. All of the women interviewed had lived in Bethnal Green, Stepney or Poplar at the time of the husband’s death. All of the husbands had had traditional East End occupations and Marris assumed that the emotional reaction to the death of a spouse would affect a woman’s attitude to a range of problems and issues. One of his central questions was to ask each woman to describe her reaction to the death of her husband. Marris limited his sample to younger women with children on the grounds that women over 60 would experience problems in relation to age that Townsend had previously investigated in the area. Marris defined his population as women who were widowed in 1953, 1954 and the first three months of 1955, who had a husband who was 50 years of age or less at the time of death and who were living in Bethnal Green, Stepney or Poplar at the time of the husband’s death. His interview schedule was organised around three topics: 1. income before and after widowhood; 2. problems a widow had encountered since the death of her husband; 3. her emotional reactions to the death of her husband. With all questions, but especially with questions of a sensitive nature such as these, the quality of the data collected is directly related to the ability of the respondent to articulate their feelings and this ability will vary from respondent to respondent. His approach to the interview was that of the funnel. Marris initially invited the women to answer questions that were very broad or general in nature but over the course of the interview he gradually sharpened the focus of his questioning to look at the sensitive issues listed. (The assumption underpinning the funnel is that although a person may be unwilling to consent to be interviewed on this subject, by skilful use of questioning it may become possible to get very full and personal responses to questions.) Marris explains his approach in the following terms: ‘The interviews were designed to begin with the most practical questions, leading gradually to the subjects where personal feelings were most involved, as both interviewer and informant became less constrained. But the order could be varied from interview to interview as seemed most natural, and I used no standard form of words for the questions. I made notes of the answers on the spot, recording the most interesting as far as possible verbatim, and drew a family tree. A full report of each interview was written up within a day or two, while it was still fresh in my mind, and I made a second call where necessary to make good any oversights’ (1967: 6).

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Marris suggests that people are much more likely to share aspects of their personal history and give franker responses when interviewed informally. In addition, points can emerge from the conversation that the researcher was unaware of when putting together the list of interview questions. The book gives the reader a very clear outline of how the sample was put together. There is no list of widows that is available for the researcher to use as a sampling frame. Therefore Marris had to identify the women in the population he was interested by other means. One option was to ask the Ministry of Pensions for a list of all the women in the area who were in receipt of a widow’s pension. However, Marris believed that the Ministry would refuse this request. A second option was to purchase a copy of the death certificates of men who had died over the period he was interested in. However, it was not possible to select a region and therefore copies of all death certificates for England and Wales for the given period would have to be purchased. This would be too expensive. Local Public Health Authorities do have records of all deaths in a given area and Marris approached the Health Authorities who provided him with the list of names he needed. He then wrote to each woman on the list asking if she would be willing to participate in the research. There were 104 names on his list, 2 of whom had themselves died, 7 could not be traced, 7 had moved out of the area and it was not practical to visit them for interview, and 16 women refused to participate (18 per cent of the sample). This left Marris with a sample of 72 women to interview (69 per cent of the sample). Their average age was 41 years and 10 months and they had on average been married for 16 years and 2 months. What the study tells us as researchers The sample was not representative of all widows in the UK but that is not to suggest that Marris’s findings are without value. His research can tell us a lot about the experience of widowhood, including the financial constraints, in Bethnal Green, Stepney or Poplar in the 1960s. Thinkpiece ‘I do not think people can be harmed by an enquiry of this nature’ (Marris 1967: 132). Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Outline the reasons for your answer. Case 4: The captive wife Gavron’s (1966) influential study of young married women with young children was a small-scale study that investigated the impact of social change in relation to the position of women in society and the impact this position had on family life. She had in mind several factors: birth control, the expansion of social services, legal changes in relation to divorce, the emergence of a consumer society, with magazines for women, television that gave women a greater insight into the lives of other women, and enhanced educational and employment opportunities. She was of the opinion that all of these factors could potentially impact on family living.

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Gavron conducted a small but detailed study that attempted to illuminate the lives of the women in her sample. A number of researchers in the late 1950s and early 1960s had suggested that patterns of family life between working and middle-class families were no longer as marked as they had been in previous years. Her study involved two samples of women: 48 working-class women and 48 middle-class women. The sample of working-class women was drawn from the practice lists of the Caversham Health Centre, a GP group practice in Kentish Town. Gavron made an alphabetical list of all the women who fell into the categories she was looking for: married, one or more children under the age of five, born after 1930. Gavron visited the women, with an introductory letter from the group practice, and asked each of them if they would like to participate in the study. Forty eight of the working class women agreed to be surveyed. The sample of middle-class women was more difficult to compile. In the first instance she could not find 48 middle-class women who met her criteria on the practice lists of the Centre. She approached a GP’s practice in West Hampstead who provided her with 35 women who met her criteria, the remaining 13 women were drawn from the ‘Housebound Wives’ Register, an informal network of women who got together after a letter had been published in The Guardian newspaper. What the study tells us as researchers What is important to note here is that although the sample is not a random sample and Gavron cannot claim that the women selected are representative of all working-class and middle-class mothers, she gives a very clear outline of how and why the sample was selected in the way that it was. What Gavron was interested in discovering was the women’s own perception of the situation they were in. Her method of data collection was the unstructured interview in which she made very flexible use of her interview schedule. As she rightly points out, any survey is only as good as the questions that are asked. The questions have to translate the research aims into meaningful findings. Two important issues need to be addressed: what questions to ask and how to phrase them? The first-time researcher might find it useful to look at Gavron’s book, especially pages 157–61 where she gives the reader a complete copy of the interview schedule. Case 5: Relative deprivation and social justice Usually when researchers think of the sample survey they think of large national samples. In 1966 Runciman published his important study Relative Deprivation and Social Justice, an investigation into people’s attitudes to social inequality in England and Wales that was supported by the Institute. Runciman was interested in the relationship between ‘institutionalised inequalities’ and the awareness or resentment of people towards perceived inequality. His key concept was ‘relative deprivation’, the idea that people’s attitudes towards inequality are dependent upon the frame of reference within which the attitude is conceived.

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Unlike the Institute’s research we have discussed so far, Runciman conducted a national sample survey in the spring of 1962. His survey was used to provide empirical data on the relationship between grievance and inequality. Only a survey, argued Runciman, could provide the quantified data he needed, but: ‘a survey has little or no meaning except by reference to the events which have shaped the social context in which it was carried out . . . the techniques of the sample survey are useful only if they are the servants and not the masters of historical interpretation. Indeed, the value of sample surveys is if anything better demonstrable from the viewpoint of the social historian than of the experimental psychologist. Surveys furnish at best only a weak imitation of controlled experiments; but as source material for the social historian they are uniquely rewarding’ (1966: 5–6). Runciman explains that he could have used letters, newspapers, diaries or other eyewitness accounts but there would be no guarantee that these eyewitness accounts are representative. The survey allows the researcher to identify how many people changed their votes between elections and for what reason; it can identify what characteristics are shared by people who support the same political party, join the religious group or have the same illness or disease; and people’s attitudes can be identified ‘with far greater confidence and precision than could be otherwise attained’ (1966: 6). For Runciman the great advantage of the survey is that it can be used to identify a pattern or statistical correlation within a population. However, Runciman also points out that a survey cannot yield a definitive explanation or proof of why something happened, or why people hold a particular attitude or belief: ‘a survey is no more than a snap-shot of the social landscape at one place and time. It may, like an aerial photograph, enable us for the first time to see clearly the outline of the woods and fields; but this only increases our curiosity to look under the trees’ (1966: 7). This means that the data generated by the survey need to be interpreted in order for the data to become meaningful. Thinkpiece What do you think Case 5 tells us as researchers? Case 6: Patterns of infant care The approach developed by the Institute was adopted by a range of other researchers. John and Elizabeth Newson published a series of books about patterns of infant care in Nottingham in which they attempted to identify what mothers do with their children and how their children normally behave. They were also interested in trying to find out if there were social class differences in the way mothers take care of young babies. In their book Infant Care in an Urban Community (1969) the Newsons drew a random sample of 709 mothers who had children under five

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years of age, from the records of the City of Nottingham Health Department. The mothers were interviewed over a period of two years mainly by health visitors, although a control sample of 200 mothers were interviewed by Elizabeth Newson. The occupation of the father of each child was taken from the records of health visitors. The occupation of fathers was classified by using the Registrar General’s Classification of Occupations. The Newsons were interested in ‘normal babies in ordinary family situations’ (1969: 17). They excluded from their sample all cases that did not fit into what they considered to be the ‘normal’ category: that meant that they excluded all illegitimate children, children who had disabilities, children who were not in the care of the mother, and children who had parents that were recent immigrants. The reason they gave for these exclusions was that: ‘the picture could only be confused by their inclusion’ (1969: 18). The interview opened with the following preamble: ‘Many mothers find problems arising in the bringing up of young babies, and many work out very good ways of dealing with them. We are trying to collect the different experiences of lots of mothers, so as to find out what sort of methods are most widely to be used and how they work with different babies’ (Newson and Newson 1969: 251). The Newsons did not use a list of direct questions but rather adopted an interview style which they describe as ‘eclectic and pragmatic’, an approach that was more like a ‘natural conversation’ in which they took note of the nuances of voice, inflection and gestures in order to identify and understand the underlying motives and values that the mothers had. In order to understand the mother’s attitude to the birth, mothers were asked the open questions: ‘How did you get on? Did you have a good time?’ They also asked what they describe as shock questions such as ‘How do you punish him when he’s been naughty?’ although they were careful not to imply criticism or reveal their personal feelings about the responses given. They claim that the health visitors had little difficulty developing a rapport with the mothers but there were some differences between the responses given to the health visitors and the responses given to Elizabeth Newson. For example, when the mothers were asked if they had ever given their baby a dummy 63 per cent said they had to the health visitor but 72 per cent said they had to Elizabeth Newson, although there was a social class difference in both samples. Thinkpiece Before you read on you might want to reflect on a number of issues in relation to this study: 1. What do you think of the Newsons’ decision to exclude the mothers of some children from the study? 2. Given that health visitors give advice to mothers, are they the best people to collect data from mothers about their children? 3. Could the use of health visitors damage the validity of the data collected?

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Case 7: Conjugal role relationships Edgell (1980), for example, investigated conjugal role relationships, at the child-rearing stage of the family cycle, within middle-class marriages in Britain. These marriages were commonly assumed to be characterised by equality and role desegregation, however Edgell argued that there was very little empirical evidence to support this assumption. He used the survey technique to gather what he considered to be appropriate evidence. As with any survey Edgell started by defining and operationalising his key concepts. First he argued that within the middle classes it was possible to identify two distinct groups: the spirals who are salaried professionals and the burgesses who are small capitalists such as shopkeepers and owners of small companies. Edgell decided to focus on a group of 31 spiral couples and a small ‘control’ group of burgesses made up of 7 dentists. He selected the salaried professional couples by approaching the personnel manager of a multinational company and a senior member of staff from a university who provided a list of people whom they believed conformed to the category spiral. Again although the sample is not a random sample and Edgell cannot claim that the people selected are representative of middle-class people, what is important is that he gives a very clear outline of how the sample was selected. A large sample would have been more representative of the population but Edgell explains that families are based upon a range of emotional and economic relationships that are often very private in nature and this required intensive study of a small number of cases. The research required that the respondents had confidence in the research process and could develop a rapport with Edgell who conducted the fieldwork alone. The main methods of data collection Edgell used were taped interviews, questionnaires and observations. On pages 118–27 of his book, Edgell (1980) gives the reader a complete copy of the questionnaire and interview schedule. Thinkpiece What do you think Case 7 tells us as researchers?

Most research methods textbooks give sound advice that questions should be clearly worded and avoid ambiguity, vagueness, etc. but it is very helpful to see what a good set of questions look like. It is worth looking at the above examples of questionnaires and interview schedules because they give the reader a very clear idea of how to phrase both open and closed questions. In addition, as Gavron’s study shows us, it is possible to conduct a valid and reliable research project with a small sample of respondents.

Questionnaires

What have we learned about the research process? First the Institute’s research should encourage the potential researcher to look for research opportunities and research questions in their local area. Secondly, identifying a common pattern or behaviour or common set of problems and issues that a group faces can be interesting in itself. Ask yourself what problems and issues do families, old people, widows, housebound mothers or any other group you are interested in face where you live today? Thirdly, because you cannot put together a representative sample of the population you are interested in, or your sample size is small, this does not mean that your research is necessarily of limited validity. You need to be able to explain to your reader that the people you have chosen to survey have all the characteristics of the people in the wider population you are interested in. If there is no sampling frame available look at the alternatives. Finally, be honest with your reader about how you constructed the sample, the problems you faced and how you overcame them.

Questionnaires A questionnaire is simply a list or set of questions that allow researchers to collect data that address their research aims. Social surveys are often associated with questionnaires, as Gray (2004) explains: ‘Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a large-scale survey without the use of a carefully constructed questionnaire’ (2004: 187). The self-administered questionnaire, a form of questionnaire in which the researcher sends the respondent a printed list of questions through the post or by email, has the widely recognised advantage that it is economical with time. However, the wording and phrasing of the questions we use is very important. The respondent has to understand fully the intended meaning of the questions we ask and what information is required to answer the questions. Of course they must also be willing to answer our questions truthfully. It is often the case that survey researchers aim for reciprocity of stimulus with the questions in the questionnaire. This means that as a researcher we ask the same questions, in the same order, using the same words and tone of voice for all respondents. Many researchers are of the opinion that reciprocity of stimulus allows them to claim that their research is more reliable because if all the respondents are asked the same questions, in the same order, using the same words and with the same tone of voice then any differences between respondents are genuine differences of attitude or opinion rather than a product or outcome of a faulty research design. If the sample of the population is large, and standardised questions are used, the questionnaire is ideal, as it will allow the researchers to identify clearly the relationships between variables.

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Non-response What is non-response? There are a number of forms of non-response in relation to survey research. Unit non-response or as it is sometimes called first-level non-response, is where a respondent does not provide any answers to any of the questions on the questionnaire and therefore provides no data. This type of non-response is often caused because a respondent could not be contacted, refused to be part of the sample, or the questionnaire was lost either by the respondent or by the researcher. One of the widely recognised disadvantages of the self-administered questionnaire is the often very low response rate. Item non-response or second-level non-response is where a respondent does not answer one or more specific questions on the questionnaire so that some data are not available for the researcher’s analysis. If people in the sample do not complete the questionnaire that we send them this will affect the validity of the findings of our research project. In many research projects even a small number of non-respondents can affect the validity of the findings. Ideally with a survey researchers would like all the respondents to answer all the questions and for there to be no non-response. Perhaps it is inevitable that there will be a degree of non-response in our research projects and we should accept this. However, in some research projects, if a person answers with the response ‘don’t know’, this response can still be meaningful for our data analysis. For example, if we are posing the question: if there was a general election tomorrow which party would you vote for? But if we ask a question about age, gender or income then an answer of ‘don’t know’ contains no meaningful data. In these circumstances imputation is needed. Imputation is a process whereby the researcher suggests the answer that the respondent would have given. However, to do this effectively you need to try to collect additional information. This is possible to acquire in a face-to-face interview but is much more difficult with a postal questionnaire. Researchers can ask additional questions, prompt people, ask for clarification, reword a question and read their body language. If there are gaps in our data set the results of our analysis may be biased because there may be significant differences between the respondents that choose to respond to a particular question and those that choose not to respond. The reason why a group of respondents chooses not to answer a particular question may be important for our understanding of their behaviour. Missing data can be divided into three main groups: 1. The researcher decides that certain questions will not be given to particular respondents because a number of the questions are assumed not to be applicable to all respondents. If people live alone the researcher does not need to ask questions about the relationship between people who share a residence. 2. Partial non-response, where all the data are missing after a certain point in the questionnaire. 3. Item non-response, where data are missing for some questions (items) from some respondents.

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Examples Two common examples of partial non-response are panel mortality or attrition and breaking off during an interview. In panel research, the research project is longitudinal and involves the collection of data from respondents at several points over a period of time. An individual agrees to be part of the sample to be surveyed but over the course of the research project chooses not to respond to our subsequent questionnaires or interviews. Alternatively, the respondent may become seriously ill, die or move house and cannot be traced. Breaking off during an interview is most common in telephone surveys where a respondent answers a number of questions but then chooses to disconnect and not answer the remainder of the questions leaving us with a ‘partial non-response’.

What are the mechanisms that may be responsible for non-response? Data can be missing for a completely random reason, such as when a question is missed by mistake. Some questions may be missed because of an issue with the respondent rather than owing to a problem with the question design: for example the respondent may have a diminished memory and fails to recollect important information. However, some questions are missed for a non-random reason such as the respondent feels that their answer is damaging to their self-image, self-esteem or may be regarded as socially unacceptable, for example questions about under-achievement at school. Certain topics such as the respondent’s age are more likely to result in non-response. Surveys that make use of the interview either face-to-face or on the telephone have generally resulted in less non-response than postal questionnaires. There is no hard evidence as to why this is the case but it may be that once a person has agreed to answer the researcher’s questions the respondent feels under an obligation to complete the interview. In Chapter 14 we will see that Milgram suggests this was the reason why people continued to participate in his experiments. Our respondents have to understand the questions we ask them and, in particular, they have to understand the intended meaning of the question. Respondents have to recall relevant information that we are asking for from memory and in some cases this can be a difficult task. If we have asked the respondent a ‘closed’ question, the respondent has to format their response to fit the response categories we have provided for them. If we ask ‘open-ended’ questions the respondent has to have the verbal skills and abilities to articulate their answer. If the question is of a sensitive nature the respondent may feel the need to edit their response before giving it to the researcher. Older people, for example, and less well-educated respondents tend to have a higher level of missed questions. For the question–answer process to be completed successfully we, as researchers, need to keep in mind a number of important issues. The wording of each question should be simple and easily understood by the respondent, and if we are using ‘closed format

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questions’ each of the response categories should fit the answer given well and all possible responses should have a response category. In other words, our response categories should be exhaustive. You need to give some thought to the number of response categories you provide for each closed question. It is commonly assumed that a larger number of response categories is better than just two. It is also assumed that people often feel uneasy having to force their response into a category and may choose to respond with ‘do not know’, ‘not applicable’ or ‘other’ category. Krosnick and Fabrigar (1997) and Leigh and Martin (1987) suggest between four and seven categories for each closed question. However it is important to keep in mind that: s ITISDIFlCULTTOWRITEGOODQUESTIONSTHATPEOPLEWILLRESPONDTOWITHFULLANDCOMplete answers; s QUESTIONSSHOULDBETESTEDBEFOREYOUCONDUCTTHESAMPLESURVEY There are two forms of testing: the pre-test and the pilot or field test. The pre-test is a rigorous small-scale test in which the questions are tried out on focus groups or in interviews with individuals to discover how the respondents will interpret your question and identify any problems.

Definitions The field test usually involves one or two people trying out the questions that a researcher intends to use in a survey in order to assess if the questions are going to collect the intended data. The pilot test usually involves testing an entire set of questions with a small sample of people ideally drawn from the population the researcher is interested in. Again the underpinning idea is to assess if the questions are going to collect the intended data.

Research into non-response One interesting piece of research by Larroque et al. (1999) attempted to analyse the characteristics of respondents and non-respondents at several stages of the survey procedure from questionnaire, to reminder to two further postings. Larroque et al.’s (1999) survey was an investigation of the ‘temperament’ of the child at two months of age and how this was linked to child-rearing practices. The first stage of the research was a ‘birth questionnaire’ given to mothers in hospital. Women who were excluded from the sample included women who did not have French as their first language and those who had serious health problems. The researchers believed that these were factors that might affect response rates. The birth questionnaire asked for the mother’s age and occupation, gender

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of the child, gestational age, birth weight, if the delivery had been by Caesarean section, stillbirth, and neonatal intensive care. There were also questions about the number of children in the household, smoking and child-rearing practices such as feeding. In the four French hospitals where Larroque et al. conducted their research the total number of women who had given birth were: s BIRTHSnSTILLBIRTHS s LIVEBIRTHSnMULTIPLEBIRTHS s  SINGLETON LIVE BORN CHILDREN OF WHICH  WERE EXCLUDED BECAUSE THE mother had a poor grasp of French or because either the mother or the child had serious health problems. A study by Cartwright (1986) had previously found that low response was associated with a serious health problem or if the mother was discharged from hospital before the baby. Cartwright also found that participation was greater if interviews were used rather than postal questionnaires – especially amongst women whose first language was not English or who were less well educated; increasing from a response rate of 75 per cent to 95 per cent. Larroque et al.’s (1999) survey used a sample of 938 mothers (95 per cent of the initial population) who were given the birth questionnaire and a consent letter asking if they would be willing to participate in the a postal survey. 110 mothers did not complete the birth questionnaire or consent form, of which 6 women returned the consent form but not the questionnaire. 828 mothers (84 per cent) returned the birth questionnaire and the consent form but 120 did not agree to be part of the postal survey. 708 (72 per cent) agreed to participate in the postal survey but 96 did not return the postal questionnaire; 7 of whom did not receive the questionnaire because the researchers had the wrong postal address. The postal questionnaire was estimated to take between 30 and 40 minutes to complete. A reminder letter was sent encouraging the mothers to complete the questionnaire after three weeks and another letter was sent after six weeks with another copy of the questionnaire with pre-addressed and stamped envelopes. Finally, 612 (62 per cent) answered and returned the completed postal questionnaire. The purpose of Larroque et al.’s (1999) survey was: s TO IDENTIFY THE SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTHCARE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE mothers who responded to the questionnaire compared to mothers who did not respond; s TOASCERTAINTHEUSEFULNESSOFSENDINGREMINDERSANDREPEATEDMAILINGSTOTHE sample. Mothers who returned the questionnaire without a reminder were classed as early respondents; those who returned the questionnaire after the first reminder were classed as middle respondents; those who responded after the second or third reminder as late respondents; and those who did not return the questionnaire as non-respondents.

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The women who refused to participate in the study were less likely to be employed, less well educated and more likely to have had the delivery by Caesarean section. However, refusal to participate was not associated with the child’s health status, mother’s age, number of children in the household or smoking. Non-respondents were older than other women in the sample, were less likely to be employed, and were more likely to have their child receiving neonatal intensive care. Late responders were more likely to have been born outside of France. Early responders were more likely to be employed, better educated and had fewer children in the household.

The important finding from Larroque et al.’s (1999) study is that response and nonresponse is related to a number of social and economic factors. It has been suggested that if the respondent is interested in the outcome of the research they are more likely to respond to a questionnaire, and that sending reminders by post increased response participation in the sample.

How to distribute the questionnaire One of the decisions that a researcher has to make is whether it is better to distribute the self-administered questionnaire by post or email, or to distribute the questionnaire personally and be present whilst the respondent completes it. Although the latter approach is more time consuming for the researcher, it is assumed to increase the response rate because it has the advantage of allowing the researcher to answer any questions that the respondent may have or to explain any issues that are of concern to the respondent.

Essential steps to follow 1. If you decide to use a self-administered postal or online questionnaire, it is good practice to write a preamble in which you welcome the respondent, explain who you are, explain the purpose of the research project, who will read the completed project and explain how the respondent was selected. The ethical issues of anonymity and confidentiality can also be explained in the preamble. You need to give clear guidance on how you want the questionnaire to be completed, in particular if the respondent is expected to answer all the questions. The time limit for completing the questionnaire will also need to be explained to the respondent.

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2. We assume that because the respondent is a voluntary participant then ethically they should have the choice of not answering a question if they so wish. Therefore it is good practice to allow the respondent the option of answering: ‘I don’t know,’ ‘not applicable’ or ‘other’ to our questions. Ethically it is good practice to inform the respondent that they do not have to answer all the questions in the preamble or covering letter that you distribute with the questionnaire. 3. Do not be frightened of stating the obvious when writing your preamble because the absence of an interviewer means that ‘there is no opportunity to ask questions or clear up ambiguous or ill-conceived answers and therefore respondents may give misleading answers’ (Gray 2004: 189).

Devising questions As with any method of data collection, with the questionnaire, the questions you ask of the respondent should be relevant to the aims of your research project. The questions may be derived from issues that emerge from your review of the literature. Each question asked must collect data that help the researcher to indicate something meaningful about the aims of the research project. If you were investigating the extent of poverty in a particular area, then poverty would be your variable and you would need to identify something that both indicated poverty and that could be asked in the form of a meaningful question to a respondent.

Thinkpiece The reader might find it useful to look at Townsend’s (1979) book Poverty in the United Kingdom in which he attempts to investigate the extent of poverty in the UK. In this survey Townsend developed the idea of ‘relative poverty’. He argued that in the UK there is a style of living that is customary and that people take for granted. If, however, a person was unable to afford the customary style of living they were in poverty. In order to measure the extent of poverty Townsend developed the ‘deprivation index’. As Townsend was later to explain: ‘Material deprivation entails the lack of goods, services, resources, amenities and physical environment which are customary, or at least widely approved in the society under consideration. Social deprivation, on the other hand, is non-participation in the roles, relationships, customs, functions, rights and responsibilities implied by membership of a society and its sub-groups. Such deprivation may be attributed to the affects of racism, sexism and ageism . . .’ (Townsend et al. 1998: 36).

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From an initial list of 60 items Townsend (1979) identified 12 key indicators of deprivation: s A PERSON HAS NOT HAD A HOLIDAY AWAY FROM HOME FOR  WEEK IN THE PAST 12 months; s ADULTSnHASNOTINVITEDAFRIENDORRELATIVETOTHEIRHOMEFORAMEALORSNACK in the last 4 weeks; s ADULTS n HAS NOT VISITED A FRIEND OR RELATIVE FOR A MEAL OR SNACK IN THE PAST 4 weeks; s CHILDRENnHASNOTHADAFRIENDTOPLAYINTHEPASTWEEKS s CHILDRENnDIDNOTHAVEAPARTYONTHEIRLASTBIRTHDAY s HASNOTGONEOUTFORENTERTAINMENTINTHEPASTWEEKS s DOESNOTHAVEFRESHMEATTIMESAWEEK s HASNOTHADACOOKEDMEALDAYINAFORTNIGHT s DOESNOTHAVEACOOKEDBREAKFASTMOSTDAYSOFTHEWEEK s HOUSEHOLDDOESNOTHAVEAREFRIGERATOR s HOUSEHOLDDOESNOTUSUALLYHAVEA3UNDAYJOINT s HOUSEHOLDDOESNOTHAVETHESOLEUSEOFFOURKEYAMENITIESmUSHWC SINK washbasin, fixed bath/shower, gas/electric cooker. Poverty is an abstract concept and as such cannot be directly measured; therefore Townsend had to identify a set of indicators of poverty (his deprivation index). Questions 1. Do you consider access to holidays, the inability to offer food to friends, lack of children’s parties, lack of fresh meat, or the lack of a cooked breakfast constitute poverty? 2. If not, what indicators would you choose to measure poverty?

It is important that your questions are clear and unambiguous. As social scientists we have a habit of using concepts and jargon terms that are not meaningful to many people in the general public, so it is important to keep your respondent in mind. Every time you devise a question ask yourself how you feel the respondent will respond. It is important to bear in mind that some people have limited language skills and different reading abilities, others have visual impairments or reading disabilities such as dyslexia. It is always worthwhile trying out your questions by asking people from your target population to respond to them. You may well be surprised at the many and varied interpretations that people can give to what you might consider to be the most simple and straightforward of questions. As a researcher you may be interested in the impact of gender on educational attainment. You may be interested in teachers’ perceptions of why girls and boys have different levels of attainment in a range of subjects. But if you were to ask a question such as ‘How would you explain the differential educational performance of boys and girls?’

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then some teachers might interpret the phrase ‘boys and girls’ as meaning ‘pupils’. In the minds of some respondents your question might be read as why do some ‘boys and girls’ perform better than other ‘boys and girls’; in which case respondents would give you a great deal of data about factors that are not central to your research aims.

Further advice on questionnaire design s 4HE lRST QUESTION ON YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE SHOULD BE A VERY SIMPLE ONE )T should be easy for the respondent to answer. If the first question is long and complicated with jargon terms included then the respondent might assume that all the questions asked will be as demanding and decide not to complete the questionnaire. s 4HEQUESTIONSYOUASKSHOULDBEGROUPEDINTOQUESTIONSWITHTHESAMETHEME or issue and progress in a logical manner. You may want to highlight key words or phrases by using a bold or italic typeface to direct respondents’ attention.

Open-ended questions or closed questions? An open-ended question is where you ask a question and provide the respondent with a space on the questionnaire to respond as they wish, using words of their own choosing. Open-ended questions allow greater flexibility in their responses. This is particularly useful when as a researcher you are unsure of the range of responses. However, the analysis of responses from open-ended questions is much more time consuming as all responses have to be read and then allocated to an appropriate category. With closed questions the researcher gives the respondent the questions and a choice of answers. It is also common to allow the respondent to choose an open category or ‘other answer’ box in which the respondent can write the answer of their choice. In this approach the respondent chooses the answer or the category that most closely fits with their favoured response. Although the responses are more limited than with open questions, the analysis is much less time consuming. There are a number of different variations of open and closed questions that you might consider: s /PENQUESTIONSWITHPRE SETCATEGORIESnINWHICHRESPONDENTSAREPRESENTEDWITH an open question that they are allowed to answer however they wish using their own words, but we allocate the response given to a set of pre-set categories. This will involve a loss of data in that some of the distinct nature of the response given will be lost by allocating the response into a category but the process does allow for much easier quantitative analysis. s #HECKLISTSORRANKORDERCANALSOBEUSEFULWHENINCORPORATEDINTOAQUESTIONNAIRE for example when we are asking how often a person engages in a given activity.

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s )N ADDITION RESPONDENTS CAN ALSO BE ASKED TO PROVIDE A RANK ORDER OF ACTIVITIES preferences or attitudes. Two of the most widely used attitude scales are the Likert scale and the semantic differential. With a Likert scale the researcher provides a statement such as: ‘The British government should reduce the budget deficit within the next five years.’ The respondent is asked to say if they strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement given. With the semantic differential, respondents are asked to choose between two statements that contain bi-polar adjectives that act as stimulus words and concepts, for example: s s s s

GOODQUALITYPOORQUALITY COMPREHENSIBLEINCOMPREHENSIBLE HYGIENIClLTHY WELCOMINGUNFRIENDLY

The purpose of the semantic differential is to measure the respondent’s reactions to the stimulus words. A simple semantic differential scale would look like this: Good

Bad 3

2

1

0

1

2

3

The 0 position in the middle of the scale is used to signify a ‘neutral’ stance by the respondent towards the issue, the 1 positions signify that the respondent is concerned ‘to some extent,’ the 2 positions ‘moderately’ concerned and the 3 positions ‘very’ concerned about the issue. It is common practice for researchers to group together five or six statements each containing pairs of bi-polar adjectives and each of which is exploring a slightly different aspect of the issue. Researchers do this because it is assumed that one response alone cannot give a full picture of the respondent’s stance on the issue the researcher is investigating. The British Election Survey, which is conducted after each UK general election, makes very effective use of the semantic differential to describe and explore the British electorate’s views on a range of issues that come up during the election campaign.

Descriptive and analytical surveys All social survey research is highly structured. There are two distinct types of sample survey: 1. the descriptive social survey, and 2. the analytical sample survey.

Descriptive and analytical surveys

The descriptive survey The work of Booth (1892), Rowntree (1901) and Bowley (1915, 1937) were all examples of research that were largely descriptive in nature as the purpose of the research was to outline as accurately as possible the living and working conditions of working class people. Descriptive surveys can be used to good effect to measure a range of demographic characteristics such age, gender, race, sexuality, disability status etc., as well as data on people’s behaviours, attitudes, beliefs and practices. A key element of all descriptive survey research is comparison: how does one group differ from another group? Very often researchers can make use of already existing data, such as the Census, to make a comparison. One of the questions you need to ask yourself before conducting a survey is: does the information already exist? Every 10 years since 1801 the British government has conducted a Census. The aim of the Census is to provide the government with a general description, or ‘anonymised’ snapshot of the population on a particular night in England and Wales. (For more information about the Census and access to results, look at www.ons.gov.uk.) Before you read on, it is important to note that all forms of sample survey have a degree of explanatory potential even if the survey appears to be very descriptive. It is important to keep in mind that even the most simple of descriptions can inform us of something we were previously unaware of.

The analytical survey The survey can provide much more than a description of a population – with effective questionnaire design it is possible to measure beliefs, opinions, preferences and habits. The analytical survey has more of a comparative or experimental feel as such surveys attempt to test the relationship between two or more variables. One of the reasons why researchers use the analytical survey approach to data collection is that it attempts to give the researcher an indication of what people are thinking about in regard to the area of study that the researcher has chosen. The analytical survey often involves using a composite approach to data collection. With a composite approach the researcher makes use of several forms of scaling to collect different types of data about the same set of issues. Different aspects of a respondent’s attitude, knowledge or understanding about an issue are added together to give a multifaceted and therefore more valid or complete understanding of the respondents’ responses. As we shall see in this section, supporters of the approach assume that the analytical survey approach can be used to collect data on sensitive subjects. In the following box we will look in some detail at one example of an analytical survey that has attempted to collect sensitive data. At the end of the discussion you will be asked to reflect on the value of the method.

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Thinkpiece Sex education Legislation in Portugal (Law 120/99) requires all schools to provide children with sex education as part of their school curriculum. However, there remain obstacles to the implementation of the policy. De Almeida and Rei (2006) devised a research project that made use of the analytical survey approach. They attempted to measure teachers’ attitudes towards sex education. The research made use of a questionnaire to identify teachers’ knowledge of sex education and measure their comfort when teaching themes of sexuality. De Almeida and Rei surveyed 176 high school teachers with a questionnaire that contained three dimensions – attitudinal, cognitive and emotional – which were measured by three separate scales: an attitude dimension, a cognitive dimension and an emotional dimension. For de Almeida and Rei: ‘Attitudes have an evaluative dimension that is always expressed through a judgement. Attitudes may be expressed through a behaviour or an emotion that may be favourable or unfavourable, which is one of the characteristics of an evaluative judgement’ (2006: 186). They also identified a second characteristic of attitudes in that attitudes can have a direction in favour of or against a particular issue. Attitudes also have an intensity with a strong or a weak position. De Almeida and Rei (2006) give the example of attitudes to euthanasia: ‘one can be in favour of euthanasia but only in cases when the patient is lucid enough to express his/her will. Others can be in favour of euthanasia in many other situations because they believe that dying with dignity and painlessness is a basic human right’ (2006: 186). Accessibility refers to the probability that an attitude will automatically be activated in our memory when we are faced with the object of the attitude. This is also identified by the researchers as a central characteristic of attitudes. They also draw upon Lima’s opinion that: ‘it is usual to find the separation of three modalities of evaluative answers that correspond to three forms of expression of attitudes: the cognitive, the emotional and the behavioural’ (2000: 190). De Almeida and Rei (2006) suspected that the levels of comfort that teachers experienced dealing with issues of sexuality in their classrooms were associated with their attitudes and they correlated this emotional aspect with the teachers’ behavioural intentions to have further involvement in sex education activities. De Almeida and Rei attempted to investigate ‘whether the cognitive aspects, such as the training that teachers had received, as well their knowledge of legal aspects, were associated with their attitudes’ (2006: 187).

Descriptive and analytical surveys

The attitude dimension was measured by the use of a 10-item scale that asked respondents to give their opinion on a statement by indicating on a 5-point Likert Scale if they were either in: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

total disagreement disagreement I’m not sure of my position agreement total agreement.

Five of the statements were positive such as ‘School sex education is very important for children and the youth’ and ‘Sex education is a very effective way to prevent HIV/AIDS’; and five negative statements such as ‘School sex education promotes earlier sexual involvement’ and ‘Only biology teachers should provide sex education’. The value of the respondents’ answers was calculated by identifying the mean value of the answers. The cognitive dimension was measured by the use of a knowledge scale made up of 15 statements with true or false answers such as: s @4HEREISALEGALFRAMEWORKFORSCHOOLSEXEDUCATION s @3EXEDUCATIONISPRIMARILYATASKFORHEALTHPROFESSIONALS s @4HEREAREEDUCATIONALMATERIALSFROMTHEMINISTRIESOFHEALTHANDEDUCATION to help teachers to promote sex education.’ s @3EXEDUCATIONISONLYPERMITTEDBYLAWAFTERTHESECONDEDUCATIONLEVEL s @"YLAW SCHOOLSAREOBLIGEDTOINCLUDESEXEDUCATIONACTIVITIESINTHEIREDUCAtional projects.’ The value of the respondents’ answers was calculated through the sum of the answers, which could have a value of between 0 and 15. The emotional dimension was measured by the use of a scale of 30 items that were intended to measure the comfort and/or discomfort that the teachers felt dealing with issues such as ‘abortion’, ‘contraception’, ‘homosexuality’, ‘menstrual cycle’ and ‘masturbation’. Respondents were asked to rate themselves on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating that the respondent was ‘very uncomfortable’ dealing with the issue, to 5 where the respondent described themselves as ‘very comfortable’ dealing with the issue. The value of the respondents’ answers was arrived at by calculating the mean value of the answers. The questionnaire also asked respondents for information about what training they had had in relation to sex education. The final part of the questionnaire was largely descriptive in nature and asked the respondents to provide some demographic data (sex, age, marital status) and also some data about their length of time in teaching, their teaching specialism etc. A questionnaire is often chosen as the research instrument because it is widely assumed to be effective in obtaining information from a relatively large number of people in a comparatively short time. If the information is of a non-sensitive

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nature we can also assume that the method is high in terms of its validity and reliability and the generalisability of the findings. However, if our findings are to be useful then we must be confident that our questions actually measure what we intended them to measure. It is only if we are confident that our questions are valid that we can be happy with the quality of our findings. Questions 1. What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of the de Almeida and Rei (2006) questionnaire design? 2. Can you identify any potential problems in de Almeida and Rei’s (2006) use of a questionnaire that might affect the validity, reliability or generalisability of their findings?

Conclusion The great advantage of the sample survey is that it can be used to identify a pattern or statistical correlation within a population and even the most descriptive survey can raise important analytical issues. This is true even if you decide to conduct a descriptive survey of local people in your area. You might think about a research project similar to one of the projects conducted by the Institute of Community Studies researchers that we looked at in this chapter. The sample survey is often associated with the use of the questionnaire as the method of data collection. The questionnaire is a method of data collection that usually involves distributing a set of standardised questions by post or email to a representative sample of the population we are interested in. The questions are described as standardised because the researcher will often pose the same questions to each respondent in the sample. One of the central problems with this approach to data collection is the often high level of non-response. Non-response can be reduced by sending reminders to the respondents or by making use of an interviewer to read the set of questions to the respondent and record their answers. This can be done either face to face or by telephone. However any survey is only as good as the questions that are asked. Careful thought needs to be given to the wording of the questions asked. Avoid jargon terms and leading, ambiguous or hypothetical questions that start with the phrase ‘what if ’. Group questions in a logical manner with one topic leading logically to another and have a mixture of question formats: open questions, closed questions, semantic differentials etc. Pilot your questions before you administer your questionnaire to make sure that the respondent understands your questions and is willing to respond to them. Always keep in mind that the purpose of the questions the researcher poses to respondents is to translate the research aims into meaningful findings. As with all research there are several issues that you need to have resolved at the planning stage of your research project:

Conclusion

s s s s

7HATDO)WANTTOlNDOUT 7HATARETHEVARIABLES)AMINTERESTEDIN 7HOAM)GOINGTOASK !M)GOINGTOASKALLTHEPEOPLEINTHEPOPULATIONORAM)GOINGTOSAMPLEASECTION of the population? If I ask a sample how do I choose the sample? s 7HAT QUESTIONS AM ) GOING TO ASK THEM n HOW AM ) GOING TO OPERATIONALISE MY variables? s 7HATINDICATORSAM)GOINGTOCHOOSE

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica use a sample survey? Although Erica has been thinking about conducting an ethnographic study she is concerned about her lack of personal skills in areas such as drawing an appropriate inference from her observations, and conducting informal conversations or more in-depth interviews with strangers. Perhaps she should play safe and conduct a questionnaire. If she wants to find out about the quality of the information provided by zoos to visitors she could ask people to complete a questionnaire. Erica could use closed questions to find out some important factual information, such as: 1. Did you know that the zoo has an educational officer? 2. Did you attend a presentation or talk by the zoo’s educational officer? 3. Do you know more about biodiversity and sustainability because of your visit to the zoo?

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

She could also use closed questions that made use of a semantic differential in which respondents are asked to choose between two statements that contain bipolar adjectives, to find out people’s attitudes and opinions. For example: If you did attend a presentation/talk, on a scale of one to seven how would you rate the presentation you attended. Circle the number that is closest to your opinion: The presentation was of:

Good quality 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 poor quality

The information about biodiversity and sustainability contained in the literature I was given was: Very informative 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 Not very informative

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Bibliography Booth, C. (1892) Life and Labour of the People in London, Volume 1, London: Macmillan. Bowley, A.L. (1937) Wages and Income in the United Kingdom since 1860, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bowley, A.L. and Burnett-Hurst, A.R. (1915) Livelihood and Poverty, London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd. British Parliamentary Papers (1903) Consumption of Food and Cost of Living of Working Classes in the United Kingdom and Certain Foreign Countries, Cd 1761. British Parliamentary Papers (1905) Consumption and the Cost of Food in Workmen’s Families in Urban Districts of the United Kingdom, Cd 2337. British Parliamentary Papers (1908) Cost of Living of the Working Classes. Report of an Enquiry by the Board of Trade into Working-Class Rents, Housing and Retail Prices Together with Standard Rates of Wages Prevailing in Certain Occupations in Principal Industrial Towns in the United Kingdom, Cd 3864. British Parliamentary Papers (1912) Cost of Living of the Working Classes. Report of an Enquiry by the Board of Trade into Working-Class Rents and Retail Prices Together with the Rates of Wages in Certain Occupations in Industrial Towns in the United Kingdom, Cd 6955. Cartwright, A. (1986) ‘Some experiments with factors that might affect the response rate of mothers to a postal questionnaire’, Statistics in Medicine, 5: 607–17. De Almeida, M.H. and Rei, V.D.G. (2006) ‘Validity of a scale to measure teachers’ attitudes towards sex education’, Sex Education, 6(2): 185–92. Dillman, D.A. (1978) Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method, New York: Wiley. Edgell, S. (1980) Middle Class Couples: A study of segregation, domination and inequality in marriage, London: George Allen and Unwin. Gavron, H. (1966) The Captive Wife: Conflicts of housebound mothers, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Gray, D.E. (2004) Doing Research in the Real World, London: Sage. Groves, R.M. and Couper, M.P. (1998) Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys, New York: Wiley. Krosnick, J.A. and Fabrigar, L.R. (1997) ‘Designing rating scales for effective measurement in surveys’, in L. Lyberg et al. (eds), Survey Measurement and Process Quality, New York: Wiley, pp. 141–64. Larroque, L., Kaminski, M., Bouvier-Colle, M.H. and Hollebecque, V. (1999) ‘Participation in a mail survey: role of repeated mailings and characteristics of non-respondents among recent mothers’, Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 13: 218–33. Leigh, J.H. and Martin, C.R. (1987) ‘Do-not-know item nonresponse in telephone surveys: effects of question form and respondent characteristics’, Journal of Marketing Research, 24: 418–24. Lessler, J.T. and Kalsbeek, W.D. (1992) Nonsampling Error in Surveys, New York: Wiley. Lima, L.P. (2000) ‘Atitudes: estrutura e mudança’, in J. Vala and M.B. Monteiro (eds) Psicologia Social (3rd edn), Lisbon: Fundaça˜o Calouste Gulbenkian, pp. 187–225.

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Marris, P. (1967) Widows and Their Families, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Morton-Williams, J. (1993) Interviewer Approaches, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publications. Newson, J. and Newson, E. (1969) Infant Care in an Urban Community, London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Rowntree, B.S. (1901) Poverty: A Study of Town Life, London: Macmillan. Runciman, W.G. (1966) Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: A Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth-Century England, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Townsend, P. (1957) The Family Life of Old People, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Townsend, P. (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom: a Survey of Household Resources and Standards of Living, London: Penguin Books. Townsend, P., Phillimore, P. and Beattie, A. (1988) Health and Deprivation: Inequality and the North, London: Routledge. Willmott, P. and Young, M. (1960) Family and Class in a London Suburb, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Young, M. and Wilmott, P. (1957) Family and Kinship in East London, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

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13 Mixed methods research By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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General characteristics of mixed methods research A mixed methods approach to social science research is rooted in pragmatism and is based upon the assumption that in well-designed research projects both qualitative and quantitative methodologies can be used, and can work well, together. A second assumption is that mixing different types of methods and interrelating qualitative and quantitative data can strengthen a study. For the mixed methods researcher research projects that rely on one method of data collection can at times provide only an incomplete understanding of the issues raised by the respondents and further explanation is necessary. A second database that makes use of a distinctly different method of data collection can help to explain issues raised by the initial data collection. Quantitative results are often presented in the form of statistics that do not speak for themselves and require a much fuller explanation as to why people responded in the way that they did. Mixed methods approaches have a long history within the social sciences. In the field of education Lacy (1970), Woods (1979) and Ball (1981) combined survey research with ethnographic research. Smith and Robbins (1982) conducted ‘structured ethnography’ based upon an initial national survey of parental involvement in US schools by questionnaire and followed this up with in-depth interviews, observations and documentary research with ‘analysis packets’ of parents in specific school districts. Cook combined survey research with ethnographic research to investigate problems parents faced when their children were diagnosed with cancer. Crompton and Jones (1988) collected verbal accounts from respondents, coded the accounts and aggregated

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them to generate numerical data. A similar approach was adopted by Silverman (1984) to investigate differences in service provision between the NHS and private sector oncology clinics. Barker (1984) conducted a sample survey on the Unification Church and followed this up with observation, interview and overt participant observation to produce a more valid picture of the motives and intentions of the congregation and explain why some individuals left the church. In many cases the mixed methods approach is adopted because the researcher has a great deal of personal knowledge about the context or setting where the research is to be conducted. Becker (1962) was interested in jazz music which allowed him to investigate the career of the dance musician by the use of a range of ethnographic methods. A mixed methods project starts with a set of research questions each requiring a different methodological approach: a structured quantitative approach for some aspects of the issues the researcher wants to address and a qualitative type of approach for other aspects. A mixed methods approach to research crosses methodological boundaries. It is often assumed that within a mixed methods research project there will be a qualitative strand to the question and a quantitative strand. In some mixed methods research projects the researchers keep the two strands distinct and independent of each other until they feel they have enough data to draw an appropriate inference. However, in interactive research projects the emphasis is on the integration rather than separation of methods across the research process. In interactive research projects a high level of interaction takes place between the quantitative and qualitative strands; often with quantitative data converted into qualitative data via a process known as data transformation within one interpretative framework: ‘Mixed methods research is the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the broad purposes of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration’ (Johnson et al., 2007: 123). Data analysis in mixed methods research can be a standard approach to data analysis, analysing quantitative data by the use of descriptive and inferential statistics and analysing qualitative data by the use of coding and thematic analysis. Alternatively, the researcher can make use of data transformation in which there is an attempt to integrate quantitative and qualitative data analysis, for example by comparing numerical quantitative scales with qualitative themes or changing qualitative themes into numerical scores. However, it is not uncommon for the mixed methods researcher to give priority to either the quantitative or qualitative approach to methodology. The researcher may choose to use a quantitative approach first to test variables with a large sample and then at a later date to explore a few cases from the sample population in more depth using a qualitative method. Finally, like all research projects, in mixed methods research the researcher can choose to conduct their research in a balanced and neutral manner in which the aim is to produce objective, valid and reliable data. Alternatively the researcher can choose

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to be an advocate and take up the point of view of a given group of people in the population, or a specific ideology. Elsewhere in the book we have seen good examples of mixed methods approaches; the Institute of Community Studies, for example, pioneered the use of in-depth case studies with surveys thereby bringing together qualitative and statistical data.

At what stage does the mixing of methods take place? Mixed methods designs can be fixed and/or emergent in nature. A fixed mixed methods design is one in which the researchers planned in advance to make use of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection from the start of the research project. In contrast, in emergent mixed methods designs researchers often decide to draw upon a second quantitative or qualitative approach whilst the research project is in progress because the chosen methodology is thought to be insufficient by itself. The stage at which the mixing of methods takes place is known as the point of interface. There are four probable stages in a research project when the point of interface can take place: 1. 2. 3. 4.

the planning or design stage, the data collection stage, the data analysis stage, in the discussion of the findings when the researchers are drawing an inference.

There is more to a mixed methods approach than simply using a combination of research methods. A number of supporters of the mixed methods approach suggest that it involves exploring ‘multiple ways of seeing’: ‘Mixed methods research is a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as methods of inquiry. As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of the collection and analysis and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches in many phases of the research process. As a method, it focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies. Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches, in combination, provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone’ (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007: 5).

The advantages 1. Mixed methods approaches are useful when the researchers know very little about the group of people they are investigating. In these circumstances they can use

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

a qualitative approach, such as observation or in-depth interviewing, in order to identify the variables that need to be measured and the questions that need to be explored by the use of a more quantitative approach. Mixed methods research provides strengths that counterbalance the limitations of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches means that researchers can draw upon the strengths of one approach to compensate for the weaknesses of the other approach. Mixed methods research enhances the validity of the findings of a research project in that a combined quantitative and qualitative approach provides more data than either quantitative or qualitative methods used alone. Researchers triangulate the methods by comparing and contrasting statistical data with qualitative data to enhance the validity of the inference drawn. Mixed methods research allows the researcher to address questions that cannot be answered by a quantitative or qualitative approach alone. Research projects, for example those that take their inspiration from Bourdieu’s sociology that have a focus on practice, the interaction between the subjective agency of individuals and the more objective habitus or field found in the social structure, need to draw upon both quantitative and qualitative data. Mixed methods research encourages the use of multiple worldviews or paradigms that can combine inductive and deductive reasoning. As we have seen elsewhere in the book deductive approaches to drawing an inference in research design are based upon the assumption that the researcher starts the analysis of the data collected with a general theory that suggests a pattern that can be identified within the data collected. In contrast, inductive approaches (sometimes negatively referred to as naive empiricism) involve the researcher in collecting data and then searching for a pattern within the data collected without the guidance of a general theory. A mixed methods approach often involves attempting to bring these two very different approaches together. Willis’s study Learning to Labour (1977) was based upon the assumption that Marx’s theory of class reproduction was valid and this assumption helped to shape Willis’s interpretation of his findings. However, what people do on a day-to-day basis whilst engaged in this process of class reproduction could not be ignored, and how people engage in the process of class reproduction by their own actions as human agents was also a key aspect of his research. Mixed methods research is ‘practical’ in that researchers are free to merge quantitative and qualitative data sets allowing them to address research questions by using both numbers and words in a meaningful way.

The disadvantages However, mixed methods research can be both time consuming and expensive to conduct as it often involves researchers working in interdisciplinary teams, sharing expertise. Using multiple sources of data provides more evidence, which is good in terms of the validity of the findings but is time consuming to analyse. On the other hand,

Characteristics of mixed methods research

researchers may find that the quantitative and qualitative data either contradict each other or in some other way call for additional explanation. Such contradictions can be difficult to get to the bottom of but it is often the case that respondents say one thing in an interview or in response to a questionnaire while being observed to behave differently in the field. Respondents are often reluctant to say something in an interview that can potentially damage their preferred self-image but their observed behaviour demonstrates their real motives and intentions. The researcher has to come to a conclusion as to why the contradiction has come about and this may require the collection of additional data from respondents about why they behave in the way that they do. Finally, it can be the case that one or two respondents selected for the qualitative phase of the research are simply different from the rest of the population you are investigating. In this case you might consider using a technique we referred to in Chapter 6 as a negative case analysis in which the research attempts to find out why individuals or small minorities hold views that are different from the majority of the population. Thinkpiece If the researcher wants to understand the motives and intentions of the respondents a qualitative approach is the most appropriate, but if we recognise that personal problems are often also public issues in that many individuals often have to face the same problem then quantitative data from a larger population may be required to understand more fully the wider social factors that shape or determine the situation in which the individual respondent finds themselves in. Obesity may be experienced as a personal problem but it is also a public issue. A mixed methods approach shares much with contemporary documentary film making. If you look at Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film Super Size Me, Spurlock looks at the statistical trends on obesity in the USA and takes you on a personal journey where he eats only food from McDonald’s restaurants for one month. This documentary draws upon both quantitative (official statistics) and qualitative data (biographical research) to tell the story. Questions 1. Watch the documentary Super Size Me. (If you cannot find a copy of the film you can find sections of it on YouTube.) Write a short account of what you consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of Morgan Spurlock’s approach. 2. To what extent is his approach valid and reliable as an approach to data collection?

Characteristics of mixed methods research The general characteristics of mixed methods research include methodological eclecticism where it is commonly assumed that ‘a wedding of methods is epistemologically incoherent’ (Howe 1988: 10).

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Mixed methods research involves selecting and then synergistically integrating the most appropriate techniques from both the qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate the questions that are of interest to you as researchers. The second characteristic of mixed methods research is paradigm pluralism. The term paradigm was first developed by Thomas Kuhn (1962) to explain the nature of scientific revolutions. Although Kuhn’s use of the term was not consistent throughout the book it was commonly assumed that the term ‘paradigm’ referred to a grand theory or big idea that had a dominant position within any science and that was so influential that it shaped all research design and explanation building. It was only when an anomaly emerged that the grand theory could not explain that the possibility of a scientific revolution involving a paradigm shift could take place. According to Morgan (2007: 50–54) the term paradigm has four distinct meanings or interpretations within mixed methods literature: 1. Paradigms are worldviews (ways of observing and understanding the world). 2. It is the metaphysical paradigm through which researchers develop their theory of knowledge (epistemology) and explore how respondents come to know what they know about the world and their understanding of what reality consists of. 3. The paradigm provides the mixed methods researcher with an exemplar of how their research should be conducted in a field. 4. The paradigm provide a set of shared beliefs amongst the community of mixed methods researchers in relation to the nature of questions in their field and most appropriate methods of data collection and data analysis. There is a common belief that a variety of paradigms may serve as the underlying philosophy for the use of mixed methods, including pragmatism, critical theory and critical realism, reflecting the variety of philosophical or theoretical stances across the social sciences. The issue then becomes: do we keep the methods in our mixed methods design separate or do we attempt to merge the distinct methodological approaches and their underpinning paradigms? Those researchers who develop a complementary strengths position believe that the different methods should be kept as separate as possible, in effect doing two separate research projects at the same time using distinctly different methods so that the strength of each paradigmatic position can be explored. Take for example an interpretative or bottom-up approach where we attempt to look at the world from the subjective view of the people we are investigating. Such an approach might involve using in-depth interviews. At the same time a top-down positivistic approach that uses questionnaires with closed questions devised by the researchers assumes we have a very full and clear idea of how our respondents are going to answer. In contrast to this subjectivism or objectivism choice, for many researchers mixed methods research involves the creation of a synergy by combining the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Biesta (2010) suggests that mixed methods researchers should aim for inter-subjectivity, the creation of a common world created by human agents from their individual subjective worlds as an alternative to both subjectivism and objectivism.

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The third characteristic of mixed methods research is an emphasis on diversity at all levels of the research enterprise, from the broader, more conceptual dimensions to the narrower, more empirical ones. The fourth characteristic of mixed methods research is synechism, in other words the combination of quantitative and qualitative research is greater than either a quantitative or qualitative approach alone. For Johnson and Gray (2010), within a mixed methods approach there should be an emphasis on continua rather than a set of dichotomies; a mixed methods approach involves replacing binaries with continua. The fifth characteristic of mixed methods research is an iterative, cyclical approach to research, which includes both deductive and inductive logic in the same study so that research may be seen as moving from grounded results (facts, observations) through inductive logic to general inferences (abstract generalisations or theory), then from those general inferences (or theory) through deductive logic to tentative hypotheses or predictions of particular events/outcomes. The sixth characteristic of mixed methods research is a focus on the research question (or research problem) in determining the methods employed within any given study. The emphasis is on the centrality of the research question and away from intractable philosophical issues and toward the selection of methods that were best suited to investigate issues of interest. The seventh characteristic of mixed methods research is a set of basic ‘signature’ research designs and analytical processes, which are often referred to as parallel mixed designs: ‘a family of MM designs in which mixing occurs in an independent manner either simultaneously or with some time lapse. The QUAL and QUAN strands are planned and implemented in order to answer related aspects of the same questions’ (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2009: 341, italics in original). The eighth characteristic of mixed methods research is a tendency toward balance and compromise that is implicit within the ‘third methodological community’. Mixed methods research is based on rejecting the either-or of the incompatibility thesis; generating a balance between the excesses exhibited by scholars at either end of the methodological spectrum; and forging a unique mixed methods research identity. The ninth characteristic of mixed methods research is a reliance on visual representations (figures, diagrams etc.) and a common notational system. Mixed methods research designs, data collection procedures and analytical techniques lend themselves to visual representations, which can simplify the complex interrelationships among elements inherent in those processes. An important characteristic of these diagrams and figures is their ability to incorporate more dimensions as the processes they describe evolve.

Why mix methods and/or methodologies? A mixed methods approach is based upon the assumption that: ‘a false dichotomy exists between qualitative and quantitative approaches and that researchers should

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make the most efficient use of both [approaches] in understanding social phenomena’ (Creswell 1994: 176). According to Hodgkin: ‘Quantitative data may assist in providing the big picture, but it is the personal story, accompanied by thoughts and feelings, that brings depth and texture to the research study’ (2008: 296). This is illustrated in a study conducted by Chow et al. (2010) who attempted to measure HIV patient satisfaction.

Example: HIV patient satisfaction Chow et al. (2010) argue that using quantitative methods such as a questionnaire will provide an indication of the size of the problem but will not give researchers an understanding of how and why people are satisfied or dissatisfied with the care they receive. Chow et al. used a mixed methods approach to assess HIV patient satisfaction and to identify un-met needs in one healthcare centre. The first phase of the research was to get an overall statistical picture of satisfaction levels in the centre by using a client satisfaction questionnaire. 234 people were approached by the researchers and 166 respondents agreed to participate in the research project. The first part of the questionnaire asked basic demographic questions about respondents’ ages, occupations etc. Section two looked at 16 aspects of patient satisfaction including: overall satisfaction with the care given; maintenance of patient confidentiality; centre’s location and physical environment; management of staff at waiting areas; and suitable appointment times. The responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale. The respondents were also asked two open-ended questions: ‘How do you think the Centre could improve?’ and ‘Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the Centre and our service or staff?’ Phase two of the research involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 22 respondents in order to identify the reasons for any client dissatisfaction or un-met needs. Data from the interviews was transcribed and the transcripts were analysed by using a content analysis. Chow argued that this type of ‘patient-centred’ approach involves drawing upon the researchers’ skills at human interaction and skills at managing emotions; the mixed methods approach increased the comprehensiveness of their overall findings, especially when findings were comparable or similar in both phase one and phase two. This gave the researchers more confidence in the validity and reliability of the findings than using only one method. Also the findings from phase two of the research could be used to explain the reasoning underpinning the respondents’ answers in phase one.

Coming to the same conclusions from the use of two different methodological approaches is commonly assumed to enhance the validity of findings because the association demonstrates that conclusions reached were not determined by the methods used.

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Lyons and DeFranco (2010) conducted a research project into educational evaluation using a mixed methods approach. The first stage in their project was a benchmarking exercise in which they drew upon the data that schools held about their students in order to make some general statements about school performance. This was followed by team meetings with staff that took the form of semi-structured, small, group interviews. Over a period of time a high level of trust was established within the group and staff started to share their insights, hunches and observations about their schools. The researchers drew upon their active listening skills to capture the meaning of what was said and encourage staff to open up and disclose even more deeply the school’s culture. Finally, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with key participants to further develop an understanding of the school. Lyons and DeFranco’s (2010) argument is that such shared insights do not come to the surface when a narrow quantitative approach to data collection is used by itself.

Example: humour research Lockyer (2006) argues that a mixed methods approach to humour research is ideal because of the complex nature of humour. She investigated how readers responded when they were offended by the magazine Private Eye. The magazine is published fortnightly and combines real investigative journalism, with spoof articles, cartoons and jokes. Lockyer’s research had three main aims: first to analytically record incidences when offence was caused to a reader, secondly to investigate how humorous discourse can be criticised on ethical grounds and finally to explore how the editor responded to causing offence. A mixed methods approach to data collection and data analysis was explored by Lockyer. First, a quantitative content analysis was used to provide a descriptive reliable record of the number of letters to the editor that were published in which readers said they had been offended and secondly the number of readers who took out libel actions against the magazine. Lockyer did this to identify the underlying pattern of who was offended and which topics caused offence. She than combined the simple content analysis with a qualitative textual analysis in order to ‘enrich’ the data to identify important discursive patterns in readers’ letters and to find out how humorous discourse can be criticised ethically. Finally, the research attempted to find out how the editor responded to complaints from readers that the magazine had caused offence. Finally, composition analysis that broadly drew on the techniques of semiotic analysis was used to assess the strategies used by the editor to discursively manage readers’ criticisms. Lockyer argues that this framework identified three signifying systems: 1. information value – how value was assigned to some parts of the page and not others;

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2. salience – how the readers’ attention was manipulated by the strategic placement of letters on the page and the length of the letters; 3. framing – the devices used, such as the use of white space, to shape how specific parts of the page are connected or disconnected with other content. According to Lockyer the composition analysis suggests that the editor uses the letters page to stifle and shut down debate.

McNamara (2010) used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the factors and processes underpinning the success of a transformational leadership strategy in 330 higher education institutions within the USA that were attempting to enhance the understanding of environmental sustainability amongst their students. The first stage of their data collection began with a descriptive/correlational phase in which questionnaires were used to collect information on the management and leadership of sustainability programmes, the strategies used to introduce sustainability programmes and the measure of progress made. The membership list of the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) was used as the sampling frame. Data from the questionnaire provided a description of the characteristics of the institutions attempting to introduce sustainability programmes, details about the sustainability initiatives and issues that had arisen during the implementation process. McNamara identified the central tendency or average response from within the findings. The second stage was a qualitative phase in which interviews were conducted with 20 respondents drawn from 10 institutions who were central to the introduction of the initiative in their institutions. The purpose of the qualitative phase was to get an understanding of the change process from the participants’ perspective. The interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed by identifying themes drawing upon Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) approach to grounded theory. Finally the quantitative and qualitative data were incorporated into one set of findings, an inference drawn and recommendations made for strategies that the research suggests help to foster sustainability programmes in higher education. In 2006, Bryman conducted a content analysis of 232 social science articles in which quantitative and qualitative research methods were combined. Bryman (2006) found that when mixed methods approaches are used in research projects, what researchers do does not always correspond to the reasons given for using a mixed methods approach and, in many cases, no reasons are given at all for using a mixed methods approach. When reasons are given they range but the most common was triangulation.

Triangulation Triangulation is often cited as the main reason for using a mixed methods approach to data collection. The term ‘triangulation’ was first used by Webb et al. (1966). The rationale underpinning method triangulation, the use of more than one method of data collection within one study, is that by checking the results

Crystallisation

obtained by using one method of data collection with the results obtained by using another method a much fuller and more valid picture emerges if the results confirm each other. Unfortunately, in practice, data collected by different methods can often contradict one another and what triangulation often reveals is that some methods of data collection are more dependable than others. In addition, Fielding and Fielding (1986) and Flick (1992, 1998) have questioned the assumption that coming together of results from different methodological approaches can be interpreted as a sign of validity because there is still the possibility that both research approaches may be flawed. A second common reason for using method triangulation is that: ‘all methods have inherent biases and limitations, so use of only one method to assess a given phenomenon will inevitably yield biased and limited results’ (Greene et al. 1989: 256).

Researchers such as Chow et al. (2010), Lockyer (2006), Lyons and DeFranco (2010) and McNamara (2010), discussed above, were all attracted to a mixed methods approach because the data they wanted to use was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The approach they all adopted is assumed to increase the completeness or unity of the overall findings they present. Quantitative methods such as the questionnaire or the use of official statistics provide numerical information about the population the researchers are interested in, for example ‘hard’ evidence about the overall statistical picture of the size and composition of the population to be investigated etc., whereas qualitative methods provide researchers with an understanding of the respondents’ knowledge of the situation they are in, their shared meanings and feeling states in order to identify the reasons why respondents behave in the way they do. One of the most interesting approaches to mixed methods research is known as crystallisation. This approach to research involves drawing upon skills and abilities from outside of the social sciences and incorporating them into the techniques of data collection and data analysis.

Crystallisation Crystallisation is an approach to methodology that attempts to combine creative work with academic analysis through what practitioners refer to as creative analytic practices. Artistic forms such as poems, photos etc. that reflect an individual’s stories are drawn upon in an attempt to understand how respondents think and feel about issues and how and why their socially constructed representations are created in the way that they are. The data analysis is seen to be a much more openly creative process than with other methodological approaches. Researchers often abandon claims of objectivity and

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instead search for a sympathetic understanding of meaning through a process of verstehen. Crystallisation assumes that the objectivity/subjectivity dichotomy, the qualitative/ quantitative division and other paired opposites within social science research are socially constructed as dichotomies that hinder creativity within the research process. Scheurich (1997) argues that all social research contains ‘deep’ civilisational or cultural biases that prevent us understanding people who do not share our culture. Crystallisation is an approach that attempts to overcome these ‘deep’ biases by de-centring the subjectivity of the researcher. The researcher attempts to step outside of themselves and look at their thoughts and ideas as an outsider would, challenging their own fundamental assumptions about what reason, knowledge, subjectivity and reality consist of. The researcher has to question what is understood by material reality and how understandings of this reality are constructed, including how subjectivity and research practices are constructed. Taking his starting point from Foucault’s conception of a archaeology of knowledge, in which Foucault attempted to trace the history of ‘epistemes’ or sets of ideas and principles for organising and categorising information in a way that allows us to make sense of the world, Scheurich argues that all social science research is realist in nature. Scheurich also argues that realism is composed of three interlinked aspects: 1. an autonomous subjectivity or a conscious speaking subject; 2. a mind capable of understanding reason; 3. valid or trustworthy representations or interpretations of the real. Crystallisation looks at the underpinning subjectivity within what appears to be objective research-based practice. Our subjectivity does not have an independent essence outside of the multiple sources of information and ways of thinking within a culture. We have to draw upon these to make sense of ourselves as independent human agents or thinking beings. Crystallisation is based upon a number of assumptions that have their starting point in postmodernism and the postmodernist understanding of narrative. Postmodernity is often assumed to be a period of history after the end of the modernity period or the end of the modern world. Postmodernism is a way of thinking about or theorising about life on the far side of modernity: historically and conceptually postmodernism is different from modernism or theories rooted in modernity. A word of warning before you read on. Postmodernists in general and the crystallisation approach to research in particular involves exploring commonsense assumptions about ourselves and the world in which we live. It is often the case that because such areas of self and social life are accepted without question we do not have everyday words and language to describe and explain the commonsense assumptions about ourselves and the world in which we live in. The language of postmodernism is often difficult to follow. When you read a respondent’s narrative, you can anticipate how events will unfold within that narrative. The narrative describes a community’s bond to itself and contains the pragmatic rules of when and why the content of the narrative should appear.

Crystallisation

Lyotard (1988) discusses what he calls genres of discourse which supply rules for linking together heterogeneous phrases. Genres of discourse always provide the framework for phrases and determine what is at stake in linking phrases. For Lyotard the postmodern condition is characterised by risk and uncertainty because on the far side of modernity people have lost confidence in grand narratives; those ‘big theories’ that strive to spell out movements of history, as well as giving guidance to people on how to lead their lives and what to think. The processes of crystallisation research: ‘reinforce the constructed and partial nature of all knowledge and of all modes of knowledge production’ (Ellingson 2008: 178). The processes of crystallisation research build upon how people cope in the postmodern condition by continually rewriting their past, creating an account of the own biography which they feel most at ease with. People experience a need for continual self-creation and a need continually to reflect on their core beliefs.

No rugby, no fear? ‘Language does not “reflect” social reality, but produces meaning, creates social reality. Different languages and different discourses within a given language divide up the world and give it meaning in ways that are not reducible to one another. Language constructs one’s sense of which one is, one’s subjectivity. What something means to individuals is dependent on the discourses available to them’ (Richardson 2001: 36). Through writing stories/narratives the researcher can situate their academic concerns within the familial contexts of the writers’ everyday lives helping them to understand how social and cultural factors underpin relationships. These stories can then be shared with others as ‘collective stories’ that can provide a voice for people who are normally silenced by dominant cultural narratives. Richardson developed the model of the ‘collective story’ as a research tool. She explains: ‘A collective story tells the experience of a sociologically constructed category of people in the context of larger socio-cultural and historical forces. The sociological protagonist is a collective. I think of similarly situated individuals who may or may not be aware of their life affinities as co-participants in a collective story. My intent is to help construct a consciousness of kind in the minds of the protagonists, a concrete recognition of sociological bondedness with others, because such consciousness can break down isolation between people, empower them, and lead them to collective action on their behalf ’ (1997: 14). Pringle (2008) draws upon Richardson’s concept of ‘collective stories’ to raise awareness of the relationships between sport, PE and gendered identities. Rugby union is commonly recognised as the national sport of New Zealand. However,

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Pringle argues that dominant cultural narratives about rugby in New Zealand silence men who are fearful of pain and injury and do not play the sport. The assumption is that private stories are constructed in relation to broader social forces and when these private stories are shared they become collective stories that can be used to provide people who are normally silenced by dominant cultural narratives with a voice; and therefore to help and empower individuals to develop a sense of community or collective identity. The assumption is that our gendered identities are socially constructed via discourses about individuals’ experiences and talk about sporting experiences. If individuals have the skills to re-story their lives they can change their understandings of their performances of gender and their gender subjectivities and come to value themselves as different rather than wrong. The approach draws upon Weber’s concept of verstehen that we discussed in Chapter 7: those collective stories help ‘readers to imaginatively feel their way into the experiences that are being described’ (Denzin 1997: 12–13). Pringle presented his story to a group of secondary school students to find out if the story would bring about a considerate response to the difficulties this raised for men in New Zealand in coming to understand their sense of self, power and masculinity. In a group discussion the students could identify the discursive interconnections between the dominating discourses of rugby and masculinities.

For Richardson (2001) crystallisation involves drawing upon creative analytic practices that involve giving up conventional forms of data analysis rooted in the objectivity/ subjectivity dichotomy in favour of more creative forms of analysis rooted in more subjective forms of understanding of narrative representations and other similar forms of discourse in the form of representation that we find in art and literature. The approach still involves rigorous data analysis but there is a clear assumption made about the impossibility of the researcher eliminating their subjective feelings or subjective influence from the research process, and as such there is a distinct shift away from what Richardson calls the traditional generic constraints of data analysis. Not all research that explores the self in relation to the context in which a person finds themselves in is rooted in postmodern approaches to social science. There is a great deal of research into the Holocaust that involves exploring personal reflection and biographical accounts but which is not written from a postmodern perspective. Saul Friedlander has written at length about his childhood experiences evading the Nazis by hiding in a Catholic boarding school. In books such as Memory, History, and the Extermination of the Jews of Europe (1993) Friedlander attempts to make a connection between his own life events and the actions of the Nazis and explore issues such as the relationship between history and memories. Elie Wiesel’s book Night (1958) is also a very personal account of his wartime experiences. Wiesel’s work describes the brutality he witnessed in Auschwitz, Gleiwitz and Buchenwald and its central theme is why God abandoned him and allowed the

Crystallisation

Holocaust to happen. Night has come to be regarded as both symbolic and representative of the experiences of all Jews during this phase of history. Promo Levi is another person who wrote about his wartime experiences in Auschwitz. Levi (1990) does this using biographical methods but has also explored placing memory within the context of history by the use of poetry, and has also written a novel. He explored the idea of the grey zone, the zone where people do things in order to survive by carrying out morally questionable actions. In particular he investigated the actions of the Sonderkommando, Jews who assisted the Nazis in the death camps. For Ellingson (2008) the role of the researcher, the goals of research, questions posed by researchers, the methods they choose to use, their style of writing from the technical language of the positivist to the artistic language of the ethnographer, their vocabularies and the criteria they use for the evaluation of their work vary as we move along a continuum from a realist/positivist social science perspective through a social constructionist perspective, to an artistic/interpretative perspective. All of these approaches to research have advantages and disadvantages but none of them is mutually exclusive. In summary, crystallisation is a methodological approach that builds upon multigenre representations that involve the researcher looking at issues in relation to methodology, not as a rigid division between art and science but as a continuum from research that attempts to be scientific and objective (positivism) through to comprehensive interpretivism such as scholarship in relation to art or literature.

What does crystallisation involve as a methodological framework or process? The first stage in a research project that draws upon a crystallisation approach is for the researcher to write a clear thesis statement in which the aims or purpose of the research project are clearly stated. 1. Data collection begins with a thick description or rich description that embodies meaning – as we saw in Chapter 7 this involves providing the reader with a full and clear account of the research setting including the respondents. 2. This is followed by identification of patterns and/or themes within the field. 3. Then interpretation and understanding of an individual’s experiences, emotions and feeling states as expressed through their narratives or performances. 4. A central element of understanding is the researcher reflecting upon their own position in the field and the processes they went through in constructing the categories for the collection of data and its description as meaningful. Hence this rejects the assumption that positivistic research makes of privileging the perspective of the researcher. 5. Poetic transcription – crystallisation demands a very high level of writing skills from the researcher who has to describe and report the meanings, feeling and interpretation of the respondents by using the same techniques that poets and novelists use in their texts.

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Crystallisation does not depart radically from other well-established contributions to qualitative methodology. The approach, for example, is not wholly dissimilar to the work of Goffman and other symbolic interactionists that place an emphasis on social construction to explore the lives of marginalised groups. Like all ethnography crystallisation attempts to view the world of the respondent through multiple lenses. The approach tends to use small groups of respondents rather than large representative samples, and as such it does not make claims that the findings can be generalised to large populations. The methods of data collection and data analysis are often very personal and rely heavily on the personal interpretative skills of the researcher and as such these methods can be described as unreliable or not replicable.

Conclusion Mixed methods research incorporates elements of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to methodology including data collection, data analysis and drawing an appropriate inference from the data collected. However, within the field of mixed methods research there is a great deal of diverse practice. As with all research, the mixed methods researcher can test theories and generate new ones; provide a description or provide an explanation; conduct research on large populations or conduct small-scale action research; be balanced and objective or be an advocate of a given group or ideology and abandon objectivity. One of the most well-established approaches to mixed methods research is evaluation research and in the following chapter this approach will be explained and discussed.

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica consider a mixed methods approach? Erica has considered using ethnographic methods and positivistic methods and has come to the conclusion that both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have advantages. Perhaps she should consider using qualitative and quantitative methodologies together in her research project? She thinks that perhaps a form of structured ethnography based upon an initial reading of the various inspection reports and documentary material to get an overview of the field, followed by a questionnaire conducted with people leaving one too, to be followed up with in-depth interviews and observations to get an understanding of what people think and feel about the quality of the education and information on biodiversity and sustainability they received during their visit is a good idea.

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Hodgkin, S. (2008) ‘Telling it all: A story of women’s social capital using a mixed methods approach’, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 2(4): 296–316. Howe, K.R. (1988) ‘Against the quantitative-qualitative incompatibility thesis (or dogmas die hard)’, Educational Researcher, 17: 10–16. Johnson, B. and Gray, R. (2010) ‘A history of philosophical and theoretical issues for mixed methods research’, in A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie (eds), Sage handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioural research (2nd edn), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Johnson, R.B., Onwuegbuzie, A.J. and Turner, L.A. (2007) ‘Toward a definition of mixed methods research’, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2): 112–33. Kuhn, T. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lacy, C. (1970) Hightown Grammar: The School as a Social System, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Levi, P. (1990) The Voice of Memory: Interviews 1961–1987, New York: The New Press. Lockyer, S. (2006) ‘Heard the One About . . . Applying Mixed Methods in Humour Research?’, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9(1): 41–59. Lyons, A. and DeFranco, J. (2010) ‘A Mixed-Methods Model for Educational Evaluation’, The Humanistic Psychologist, 38(2): 146–58. Lyotard, J.-F. (1988) The Differend: Phrases in Dispute, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Lyotard, J.-F. (1992) The Postmodern Explained: Correspondence 1982–1985, translated by D. Barry, B. Maher, J. Pefanis, V. Spate and M. Thomas, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. McNamara, K. (2010) ‘Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of Transformative Leadership and Change Strategies’, Environmental Practice, 12(1): 48–58. Morgan, D.L. (2007) ‘Paradigms lost and pragmatism regained: Methodological implications of combining qualitative and quantitative methods’, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1): 48–76. Pringle, R. (2008) ‘“No rugby – no fear”: collective stories, masculinities and transformative possibilities in schools’, Sport, Education and Society, 13(2): 215–37. Richardson, L. (1997) Fields of play: constructing an academic life, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Press. Richardson, L. (2001) ‘Getting personal: Writing-stories’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1): 33–8. Rorty, R. (1989) Contingency, Irony and Solidarity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Scheurich, J.J. (1997) Research Method in the Postmodern, London: Falmer Press. Silverman, D. (1984) ‘Going Private: ceremonial forms in a private oncology clinic’, Sociology, 18(2): 191–204. Smith, A.G. and Robbins, A.E. (1982) ‘Structured ethnography: the study of parental involvement’, American Behavioral Scientist, 26(1): 45–61. Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (2nd edn), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Teddlie, C. and Tashakkori, A. (2009) The foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques in the social and behavioural sciences, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Webb, E., Campbell, D., Schwartz, R. and Sechrest, L. (1966) Unobtrusive measures, Chicago, IL: Rand McNally. Wiesel, E. (1958) Night, New York: Hill and Wang. Willis, P. (1977) Learning to Labour, Farnborough: Saxon House. Woods, P. (1979) The Divided School, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

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14 Evaluation research and experiments By the end of this chapter you should have an understanding of: t
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What is evaluation? Evaluation involves a critical assessment of organisations, policies, programmes, interventions or people on the basis of collected valid and reliable information that will allow people such as policy makers to make informed decisions, such as whether the organisations, policies, programmes, interventions or people are achieving the goals set for them in an affordable manner. Effective evaluation research should be able to demonstrate in a valid and reliable manner if a given outcome is affected by a given intervention. A clear set of objectives are required before any form of effective evaluation can take place. Smith et al. give good examples of a poor statement and a good statement of objectives: ‘(a) . . . to determine the effectiveness of a day centre for patients with mental illness. (b) . . . to determine whether patients suffering from moderate depression require fewer admissions to psychiatric hospitals if they are offered twice-weekly attendance at a day care centre’ (2005: 13).

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There are two forms of validity in evaluation research: 1. Internal validity: data collection should be free from bias and free from unknown factors that distort the outcomes under investigation (confounding variables). 2. External validity: the extent to which findings from one evaluation report can be generalised to a wider population. It has been suggested, for example, that there is a link between the oral contraceptive pill and breast cancer but research may suggest that a possible confounder of any relationship might be cigarette smoking. Women who take the pill are advised not to smoke but if they ignore this advice it may hide the link between the pill and cancer. In addition, we might assume that women who take the pill are much more likely to be sexually active than women who do not. This means that there is a potential link between breast cancer and increased sexual activity. How do researchers control confounding variables? One approach is to restrict the opportunities for confounding variables to influence the outcome of the research findings. If cigarette smoking is believed to be a confounding variable in our research we could have a sample made up only of smokers or a sample made up only of non-smokers. Randomised control trials (RCTs) involve the allocation of subjects to either a control or treatment group on the basis of chance within a controlled environment, in order to minimise the influence of unknown confounding variables on the way researchers measure the relationship between the treatment and the outcome. If confounding variables are controlled then any difference between the treatment group and the control group can be assumed to be an outcome of the intervention.

Definition The main purpose of evaluation is to collect information to allow decision makers to choose the best approach from a number of possible alternatives. Evaluation is a process used to find out the quality or value of something, or to verify the quality or effectiveness ‘of a program, product, project, process, objective, or curriculum’ (Worthen and Sanders 1987: 22). For Stufflebeam, evaluation research is a form of: ‘study designed and conducted to assist some audience to assess an object’s merit and worth’ (Stufflebeam 2001: 11).

The three main approaches There are three main approaches of evaluation: 1. Politically-oriented evaluation – the purpose here is not really to make a judgement about how effective an organisation is performing but to provide a positive image

Evaluation: formative and summative

of the organisation. Tom Clancy and General Chuck Horner provide a number of good examples of such politically-oriented forms of evaluation. For example, after the 1991 Gulf War (Desert Storm): ‘In the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and each of the service departments published “Lessons Learned” documents that were in fact advertisements for individual programs, requirements, or services . . . the so-called “studies” tended to be self-supporting rather than critical of the agency that sponsored the work. And too many of the books, monographs, studies, and official documents misstated the facts, with the aim of salvaging a weapon system, military doctrine, or reputation whose worth could not otherwise be supported. They were public relations documents, not clear-eyed honest appraisals, and they were aimed at influencing the soon-to-come budget reductions and debates over each service’s roles and missions’ (1999: 501 cited in Stufflebeam 2001: 13–14). 2. Question-oriented evaluation – Stufflebeam (2001) argues that question-oriented approaches generally begin by asking a set of narrowly defined questions suggested by a programme’s behavioural or operational objectives or derived from a funding body’s accountability requirements, or from an expert’s preferred set of evaluative criteria. The evaluators ask questions to generate information about outcomes, such as: what is the purpose of the policy or programme? Who is expected to benefit from the policy or programme? How many people benefit from the policy or the programme? 3. Value-oriented evaluation, or the ‘humanistic approach’ as it is sometimes known, is concerned with trying to identify the intrinsic value of a programme, in other words the value that a programme has in itself. The approach often draws upon Dewey’s conceptualisation of valuation by looking at a programme from a user-experience perspective in that the evaluation criteria are shaped by the subjective needs of users, consumers or clients.

Evaluation: formative and summative With formative evaluation, evaluators collect information about a programme in order to help bring about improvement. The evaluators draw attention to what things went wrong, why things went wrong and how better results can be achieved next time. Formative evaluation can be both descriptive and/or judgemental in nature. In the case of teacher evaluation, for example, formative evaluation can help teachers to develop professionally by assisting them to reflect on their practice and to think about their teaching strategies. Formative evaluation is often based on a person’s judgement of what is needed to gain professional growth; Nevo (1994) suggests that the teachers should use evaluation for self-improvement instead of waiting for the LEA or head teacher to impose it on them.

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Summative evaluation is often used to determine how effective a programme is at achieving its objectives. This kind of evaluation is mainly concerned with accountability. Summative and formative evaluation can co-exist, but in many cases it is the need for greater accountability that is most important. However, when professional growth is included in an evaluation system, evaluation is more effective in meeting the needs of employees and the organisation in general.

Evaluation: internal and external External evaluation takes place when central control and guidance for the evaluation exercise comes from people outside the organisation. The main advantage of using external forms of evaluation is that they are assumed to be effective in terms of accountability. It is for this reason that they are popular amongst politicians who have a policy of improving public services. In the case of Ofsted, for example, there is a centralised system that prescribes and controls inputs and the practice of evaluation is highly standardised. In contrast, internal evaluation is conducted by people who are in the organisation and it has two main forms: 1. hierarchical internal evaluation – this takes place when the senior staff judge the skills and abilities of junior staff; 2. self-evaluation – this takes place when individuals look at their own performance and make a judgement as to how well they perform. This form of evaluation can be viewed as a mechanism for organisations to improve the quality of what they do from within. Many people are uncomfortable or even hostile to evaluation; in the case of teacher evaluation this has been viewed as a process ‘against teachers rather than for teachers’ (Nevo 1994: 96). This is because such forms of evaluation identify responsibility for successes and failures by identifying individual teachers and individual schools. Many teachers view evaluation as an attempt to ‘name and shame’ individual members of staff. Often teachers are evaluated by observations and this is also a useful tool in evaluation research projects. An inspector makes a few visits to classes to observe, usually with prior notice, and on the basis of the observation decides if appropriate practices are employed during the lesson using a checklist or a subjective judgement. Teachers are easily evaluated in terms of accountability, but they rarely get advice on how to improve their performance. Many commentators have suggested that employee evaluation should be conducted in a way that could help and support employees and to improve their practice. One way to achieve that is peer assessment. With peer assessment a supporting team is responsible for the mutual observation and help between colleagues; staff members observe each other and make specific

Central features of evaluation research

judgements in relation to the aims of the organisation. The process is believed to provide useful feedback for the employee’s self-evaluation. Forms of peer assessment that involve collaborative reflection can assist employees to grow professionally and lead to the development of more effective organisations. In summary, organisational evaluation can be internal (self-evaluation) or external. External evaluation is made by people from outside the organisation, usually an inspectorate, such as Ofsted that investigates the quality of schools and other publicly funded education provision. The assumption underpinning an Ofsted inspection is that by evaluating the quality of teaching and learning within a school, a minimum level of educational quality is guaranteed. If a school is below the standards, the inspectorate takes a number of measures that vary from intensive supervision to closing of schools. In contrast, internal evaluation is made by people from inside the organisation to encourage a dialogue about priorities, objectives and quality criteria and to discuss how to achieve those objectives. However, many commentators have argued that for self-evaluation to be successful it must be a participative process. In the case of schools, teachers, students and parents should take part in each stage of the self-evaluation as far as possible.

Thinkpiece ‘Teacher evaluation has been typically viewed from a narrow procedural or technical perspective that fails to appreciate schools as complex organizations and systems’ (Davis et al. 2002: 299–300). What does this statement mean?

Many forms of evaluation research assume that there are layers of conflict within an organisation because different stakeholders have different perceptions of the role and purpose of the organisation.

Central features of evaluation research Evaluation research is a form of applied social research that describes problems and suggests effective solutions to those problems. Evaluation is about attempting to identify the value and significance of a programme, policy or initiative. If a policy or programme is introduced to reduce or remove some pattern of activity that is considered to be problematic, such as failing schools, then evaluation would involve an investigation of the policy or programmes in order to made a judgement about its success (or otherwise) in terms of the achievement of its objectives. This approach is defined by Tilley as:

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‘The systematic identification and assessment of effects generated by treatments, programmes, policies and products’ (2010: 104). For Tilley (2010) evaluation research is conducted for various reasons: s s s s s

TOINFORMPOLICYANDPRACTICE TOINFORMRESOURCEALLOCATION TOHOLDPOLICYMAKERSACCOUNTABLE TOINFORMCONSUMERS TOINFORMDECISIONSABOUTPROGRAMMEANDPOLICYCONTINUATION

One issue the evaluator has to face is that of approach. Should they be value free or should they be an advocate for the programme? Advocacy is where the evaluator takes up the perspective or standpoint of one or more of the stakeholders within a programme and looks for evidence to support that perspective. There is an argument that interaction with people who are being evaluated can undermine the objectivity of the evaluation. This is based upon the assumption that the evaluator should stay at ‘arm’s length’ because when distance is sacrificed then so is validity. Biases can include random assertions and systematic errors, both of which can emerge from personality clashes, personal attraction, prejudice etc. In addition, the evaluator may make changes to the findings and judgements within a report to avoid hostile confrontation. However, co-operation is needed from the people being evaluated in order to get access to the data required.

Methodological approaches Evaluation research can be qualitative and/or quantitative and there are three broad methodological approaches to evaluation: 1. ‘Constructivists’ stress qualitative methods and engage in methods that involve negotiations with stakeholders. The constructivist approach is more philosophical in nature than many of the other approaches to evaluation, in that it is based upon subjectivist epistemology that assumes that because individual people create the social world we should reject the existence of any ultimate reality beyond the world that people construct. The approach rejects the idea of value-free data collection in evaluation. Guba and Lincoln (1985 and 1989) lead the way in developing a constructivist approach to evaluation. 2. The ‘realist’ approach emphasises the presence of various layers of social reality and these layers that are found within programmes generate causal forces that shape the outcome of programmes. As such, causal mechanisms are activated by measures introduced in ways that may not be recognised or acknowledged by the designers of the programmes. 3. ‘Experimentalists’ stress quantitative methods and interpret programmes as variables to be isolated with effects to be observed.

Central features of evaluation research

Realism Realism has a number of forms depending on how ‘the real’ is understood. However, the central assumption in realist approaches is that ‘a world exists independently of the person’. The two most radically different forms of realism are empiricism and idealism. 1. For empiricism the real world is composed of discrete entities that are real objects which can only be accessed through sense data. 2. For idealists the real world can only be understood through a synthesis of sensation and mental constructs.

Sayer’s approach For Sayer (2000) many people would accept that the physical world is independent of our knowledge of it, but would be unwilling to accept that the social world is also independent. Within the field of education, for example, researchers are highly likely to come across management or classroom practice that is guided by theory, a situation that Sayer terms a ‘hall of mirrors’ effect. Sayer’s conception of critical realism rejects a correspondence theory of truth on the ground that simple correspondence does not do justice to the complexity of the relationship between our practical knowledge and our actions in the world. Interpretative understanding is not simply a matter of attempting to find the one true interpretation but rather should be seen as an ongoing production process of description and interpretation about the world and how it works. This approach is seen most clearly in the notion of situated knowledge or standpoint theory. This means that within any organisation there will be tensions between people who have different roles within the organisation and who have very different perspectives on how the organisation works. These perspectives have to be explored and evaluated. For Sayer (2000) we have to: ‘understand and negotiate with actors’ accounts, not dismiss them in order to maintain the purity of what we like to call theory’ (2000: 146). Traditionally realism drew upon a quasi-experimental form of empirical evaluation. A closed system of variables was assumed and a treatment, such as a programme or policy, was tested and its effects were measured. However, programmes and policies are rarely static in the way that traditional realist evaluation assumed. They are implemented by people and these people will have very different assumptions and ideas about the value and effectiveness of such programmes or policies. For Sayer (2000) the real world is often an ambiguous place and individuals often get things wrong about the world: in other words, people’s ideas are characterised by their fallibility. However, the assumption that knowledge is fallible does not mean that all discourse is equally true, valid or adequate to inform practice. From this assumption it follows that the central characteristic of realism is the idea that the world exists independently of our understanding of it. As Sayer (2000) explains:

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‘there is no reason to believe that the shift from a flat earth theory to a round earth theory was accompanied by a change in the shape of the earth itself ’ (2000: 11). Realists assume that the real world will always be much messier than our theories about the world. In the social sciences there is an additional complicating factor in that other people’s theories and ideas about the world are part of the real world and as such some knowledge exists independently of our understanding of that knowledge. Critical realism should not simply be an investigation of a simple empirical reality that we can experience with our senses. All social phenomena are by their nature meaningful and that meaning is one of the factors that helps to shape our perception of the object, even though such meanings cannot always be measured empirically. Ontology is a theory of what reality consists of and critical realism is not simply the study of objects that exist ‘in themselves’, but a study of structures and power relationships. In other words, critical realism contains a ‘stratified ontology’ in which some power resources are not fully activated or may even be dormant. From this perspective, explanation building involves identifying the mechanisms that make things happen in the world and understanding the nature of objects that possess power, how such mechanisms work and under what conditions. This way of working draws upon a conception of verstehen or subjective understanding. If you remember, verstehen is a technique that helps the researcher to gain access to the perceptions, motivations and thoughts, etc. of the people they are investigating in order to gain an understanding of the person’s motives and intentions. Verstehen is based upon the assumption that it is possible for the researcher to put themselves in the respondent’s social and cultural context in order to re-construct or ‘re-experience’ the world as they do and attempt to understand the underpinning rationale behind their thoughts, feelings and motivation in an effort to understand their behaviour. Outward signs are meaningful in that they mean something to the individual who observes them in that they allow the observer to grasp their inner meaning. This approach involves the internalising of behaviour we observe in a given situation and then attempting to categorise that observed behaviour. In other words, verstehen is used to say something about the meaning of behaviour that we can directly observe. Critical realism assumes ‘open systems’ rather than ‘closed systems’ in which context, mechanisms and complexity all potentially influence outcomes. We can summarise Sayer’s (2000) position by saying that the physical world is real and exists irrespective of how we conceptualise it, in other words the world is independent of our knowledge of it. Realists also believe that the social world is independent of our knowledge of it. In addition for Sayer there is high degree of complexity in the relationship between our practical knowledge of the world and our social actions. There is always more than one true interpretation of the world. In evaluation research, interpretation is always an ongoing process of description and explanation of the world and how it works. This approach is seen most clearly in politically-oriented forms of evaluation or standpoint theory where the purpose is not to make objective judgements about the effectiveness of a policy, programme or how well an organisation is performing but to provide a positive image of the organisation to people outside

Central features of evaluation research

it, such as the general public or government. Within organisations there are tensions between people who have different perceptions of how the organisation works. In order to get a full and valid understanding of how organisations work these differing perspectives have to be identified, explained and evaluated. Return to the Thinkpiece above, where Davis et al. suggest that: ‘Teacher evaluation has been typically viewed from a narrow procedural or technical perspective that fails to appreciate schools as complex organizations and systems’ (2002: 299–300). What they are suggesting is that there is always more than one true interpretation of a teacher’s performance. Within schools there is a high degree of complexity in the relationship between teaching staff, pupils and other stakeholders, which often produce tensions because stakeholders can have very different perceptions of how the organisation should and does work. It is for this reason that a valid interpretation of an organisation needs to identify these differing perceptions, explain where they came from, how they were formed and evaluate their impact. A teacher may be viewed as having a poor performance because the person who is making the judgement has a differing understanding of the role of the teacher.

Applying Sayer’s approach Sayer’s approach to realism suggests that if you are a researcher writing an evaluation report of an organisation you need to choose methods of data collection that allow you to gain an understanding of what a range of people think about the organisation.

Pawson and Tilley’s approach Pawson and Tilley (1997) ask the question: what are social programmes? Their answer is that social programmes are social systems that contain all the central elements that one would expect to find within any social system: interaction between individual human agents and structure of the institution via a range of micro and macro social processes. For Pawson and Tilley the key feature of realism is the emphasis on explaining the significance of mechanisms. For Pawson (1989) underlying mechanisms are the things that connect causal sequences. He gives the example that children often grow up to have the same social class position as their parents. We would attempt to identify the underlying mechanisms: ‘by asking about the mechanisms of inheritance that advantaged or disadvantaged certain groups in acquiring class (occupational) positional positions. One would

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theorise about the credential barriers constructed to serve the interests of particular occupational groups. One could hypothesize how legislation on the inheritance of wealth and property, favoured or disadvantaged particular groups. One could try to understand how the changing patterns of opportunities available with technological and economic change lessened or increased the mobility opportunities of different groups’ (1989: 74). In summary, evaluation research using this approach must be concerned with finding explanations for individual social actions and it is the actions of individuals that activate generative mechanisms. In turn it is the activation of underlying generative mechanisms within a given context that brings about or generates change. This means that we can only make sense of change by understanding how and why individuals choose to act in the way they do. Generative mechanisms are local to a given and specific social context. The first stage of evaluation research is to identify clearly the context in which the social action takes place and the generative mechanisms that operate within that context. Pawson and Tilley (1997) stress the importance of understanding four key elements: 1. Embeddedness – we can only make sense of social action by reference to a collection of shared assumptions. Social programmes cannot be seen as ‘dosages’ of a uniform treatment that are given to individuals. Individuals may choose to interpret a programme in ways that the policy makers did not intend. This differing interpretation could be rooted in the differing backgrounds, interests and prejudices of the individuals concerned. 2. Explanatory mechanisms – ‘mechanisms’ are the causal forces released or inhibited by programmes. The surface perception of how an organisation works may be a product of unobserved levels of motive and intent that human agents use to make sense of the programme. Evaluation research needs to investigate how programmes may change the human agent’s behaviour, how they may weave together people’s choices and capacities to bring about outcomes. 3. Contexts – ‘context’ includes the conditions necessary for mechanisms to be activated. Social programmes are always introduced into and have to operate within pre-existing contextual conditions. This includes more than just geographical location but a range of specific, accepted, conventional practices that limit the behaviour of individuals. 4. Outcome – Pawson and Tilley (1997) look at outcomes in terms of the changes in the programme brought about by the activation of the mechanisms in the contextual conditions in which the policy or practice is introduced. They give this the following shorthand description: Outcome = Mechanism + Context. Social programmes only generate outcomes if human agents choose to make the programme work. From Pawson and Tilley’s perspective unknown confounding variables are a key element of the ‘context’ and often contain ‘mechanisms’ that facilitate social action. It is for this reason that Pawson and Tilley support the mixed methods approach to data collection in evaluation research as confounding variables can often only

Experiments

be found by the use of interpretative methods. It is for this reason that international comparison is often difficult in evaluation research because of the different cultures, contexts and potential confounding variables in different parts of the world. Realists attempt to understand what generates the constraints over choice by developing a range of possible Outcome = Mechanism + Context propositions. For Pawson and Tilley (1997) the realist approach is then ‘theory driven’. The aim of theory-driven evaluation is to identify how and why some programmes are effective in particular circumstances. Without a theory of why a social programme may be effective and a theory of the context in which human agents choose to make it effective, all evaluation research would be ineffective. A theoretically justified model of the social problem or programme has a number of functions to perform within any evaluation exercise: it informs the rationale for the exercise; it informs the choice of data collection and data analysis; it can direct the evaluator’s focus to key problems and issues; and it gives an indication of what the evaluator can expect to find.

The ‘experimentalist’ approach The ‘experimentalist’ approach assumes that all the relevant variables in relation to a policy or programme can be controlled and manipulated by the evaluator: in other words, the world can be held constant to measure the effect of a programme. The approach aims to have as little ambiguity as possible and the most commonly used methods of data collection include field experiments and quasi experiments. Ideally this approach would make use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that are assumed to achieve ‘internal validity’ – in that the association between treatment or programme and effect is clear, unambiguous and can be measured by the use of indicators that have a numerical value. Individual people should be allocated to experimental and control groups and then the impact of the treatment is measured. As the evaluation is conducted under as near as possible to laboratory conditions it is assumed that researchers are able to make generalisations from the findings to other individuals and groups in the same circumstances but beyond those sampled.

Experiments Apart from a number of famous psychology experiments, most social scientists do not have the opportunity to conduct laboratory experiments. The experiment is regarded as one of the most valid and reliable methods of data collection because it is an approach to research in which the researcher attempts to control and manipulate all the relevant variables in order to identify causal relationships. By doing so researchers can produce unambiguous findings. Experiments have the added advantage in that well-designed ones, even with small samples, can generate valid results.

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Although most social science research projects do not make use of laboratory experiments, where experimental designs are used they tend to be field or quasi-experiments rather than laboratory experiments. In quasi-experiments subjects cannot be allocated randomly to different treatment groups, very often for ethical reasons. One of the longrunning questions in educational research is about nature vs nurture. In other words, is educational attainment a product of genetics or is it a product of a child’s upbringing? We could take several pairs of identical twins, separate them at birth by placing one child in a middle-class family and one in a poor family, wait for a number years and then identify their educational attainments at various points in their lives (e.g. at age 16, 18 and 22). The more pairs of twins we put through this process the more valid our results would be. This approach is unethical for a number of reasons. But we could still conduct a research project addressing the same subject if we could identify identical twins that had by accident been separated at birth and grown up in very different circumstances from each other. However, there are many other variables that can affect educational attainment and as researchers we cannot control and manipulate these variables in our quasi-experiment. You might want to look at the impact of the school, peer group, choice of subjects and health of the child for example. A field experiment also takes place outside of the laboratory, but in this case the researcher does allocate subjects either to a treatment group or a control group. If we wanted to test the impact of a particular type of toothpaste on tooth decay in children, we could allocate one group of children to a treatment group and ask them to use the toothpaste we give them; the control group would not be given the same toothpaste. Again it is not possible to control all of the variables. Tooth decay has a number of causes including diet, number of times a child brushes their teeth, for how long and their skill at brushing. Also children in both groups might become more conscious of the importance of brushing their teeth if they are selected as part of the experiment. As you may recall from Chapter 1, an independent variable is something which the researcher believes can bring about a change in another variable. A simple experimental design would involve attempting to test the effect of one independent variable on one dependent variable. The researcher could change the amount or level of the independent variable in order to measure any degree of change that is caused. Making changes to the amount or level of an independent variable in order to measure change in the dependent variable is commonly known as experimental treatment. Most experimental designs will include an experimental group and a control group. Experimental group members share the same relevant characteristics as the respondents in the control group. The only difference is that the researchers only apply the experimental treatment to the experimental group and not to the control group. Any changes that we observe between the two groups over the course of the experiment are assumed to be caused by the application of the experimental treatment.

The Milgram experiments Milgram (1963) conducted a series of experiments into obedience that involved a subject being asked to administer a series of simulated electric shocks to a ‘victim’ as part

Experiments

of a learning experiment to identify the effect of punishment on memory. The victim was a 47-year-old accountant who had been trained for the role by Milgram. Milgram had a sample of 40 males aged between 20 and 50 from New Haven in the USA. The primary dependent variable was the maximum electric shock that the subject would give as punishment before refusing to administer a shock. Manipulation of the subject could take a number of forms such as the tone of voice used in the commands given by the experimenter to continue. If a subject refused to give an electric shock, the experimenter would use a series of verbal ‘prods’ to encourage the subject to continue giving the shocks, in a tone of voice that Milgram describes as firm but not impolite: ‘Prod 1: Please continue or please go on Prod 2: The experiment requires that you continue Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue Prod 4: You have no other choice, you must go on’ (1963: 374). If a subject asked if there was a risk of permanent physical harm to the learner from the shocks, the experimenter responded: ‘Although the shock may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go on’ (Ibid.). If the subject explained that the learner did not want to continue, the experimenter said: ‘Whether the learner likes it or not, you must go on until he has learned all of the word pairs correctly. So please go on’ (Ibid.). Milgram conducted a survey of psychology students asking for their prediction of how many people in the sample would be prepared to give the maximum shock. Their prediction was 1.2 per cent of the sample. The entire sample was prepared to administer shocks of up to 300 volts and 26 men (out of 40) from the sample were prepared to give the maximum shock, which was labelled ‘XXX extremely dangerous’ on the shock generator, to the learner in the experiment.

Thinkpiece Were there any variables that could not be controlled and manipulated by Milgram in the course of these experiments? Milgram suggested that because the experiments were conducted at Yale University this could have an influence on the subjects’ behaviour. Also because the aim of the research, as presented to the subjects, was to improve learning, this may have also influenced the subjects’ behaviour. The subjects were also paid $4.50 to participate and again this may have influenced their decision to continue. In later studies using women as subjects and conducted away from the university, doing research in which Milgram claimed was part of a market research project, he found similar results. Are there any ethical issues raised by this research project? (Whilst considering this, keep in mind that all the subjects were volunteers and could have refused to administer a shock at any time.)

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Controlled environments Experiments conducted in controlled environments such as the laboratory have a number of advantages. Not only do they have a scientific status but the researcher can focus on results rather than the motives and intentions of the subjects. The method can establish unambiguous causal relationships between treatment and outcome. However, causal relationships are often suggested rather than proved. What we usually find is some form of constant conjunction, which means that we observe one event followed by another. On a cold day water can freeze; we assume that because the cold weather came first and the water froze second that a causal relationship exists but in social science research we can never be as sure of such a causal link. In the natural sciences such external factors can often be controlled. If we wanted to test the impact of heat on a metal bar, it would not be that difficult to control all the other variables. It is also important to remember that even in the natural sciences, researchers have to clearly identify and describe the variables they are going to use. Inadequate operationalisation of variables will affect the validity of findings. Finally, in both the natural sciences and the social sciences researchers still have to choose appropriate indicators for the variables that they use.

The Hawthorne effect From 1927 until 1932 Mayo and colleagues conducted a series of studies at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company. Over the five-year period there were three distinct phases of the research: experiment; interview; and observation. The company were interested in identifying the level of lighting within the factory that would allow workers to perform at their most efficient. It was found that all experimental changes to the environment, including reducing the light levels, resulted in an increase in productivity. Mayo and colleagues eventually came to the conclusion that the sample of people selected for the experiment were made to feel special by being selected for the study and it was this rather than changes to the work environment that was the significant factor in increasing their productivity. The Hawthorne effect, as it became known, is not unique to experiments. It can affect any sample of people selected for participation in a research project. As a researcher you need to reflect upon the effect that our research has on helping to shape the responses that we get from our sample.

Summary and report writing Experimental evaluation research attempts to find causal relationships between variables, with the treatment or intervention as the independent variable and the outcome

Writing an evaluation report

as the dependent variable. Drug trials for example often take this form of design. After taking some baseline research to make sure that all the people in the sample have no underpinning condition that might affect the outcome, individuals are allocated to a treatment group or a control group. Ideally the trial should be blind in that the researcher should have no idea which group is which. Any changes in the treatment group can be assumed to be caused by the treatment or intervention. There are however practical, ethical and epistemological problems with conducting such forms of research in the social sciences. Allocating individuals to one group rather than another is often impractical as people from the control group and the treatment group may meet each other and contamination may take place. Factors other than the treatment may influence people’s actions and the outcomes. Finally, there is the possibility of the Hawthorne effect; people may change their behaviour because they are part of a research project. To judge the effectiveness of a programme or intervention the research needs clearly to define effectiveness and needs to choose appropriate indicators for the effectiveness of the variables used. In the social sciences behavioural objectives are not so easy to define or measure. Also we have to keep in mind evaluation research takes place within a moral and political context. If we wanted to investigate if a policy or programme was effective in reducing social exclusion, for example, the definition of the variable (social exclusion) and the choice of indicators of its effectiveness will be highly politicised.

Writing an evaluation report Many of the examples of evaluation research discussed in this chapter are very large projects funded by research bodies and conducted by large groups of experienced researchers. However, this does not mean that you cannot conduct an evaluation research project. From the largest and most ambitious projects to the most small-scale undergraduate projects there is a basic structure that you must follow to obtain valid and reliable data within a well-designed research project. Evaluation research is a suitable approach to adopt if you are interested in making an informed judgement or appraisal of an organisation, team, policy or programme on the basis of data you have collected. Once you have identified what it is that you want to evaluate and you have a clear idea of what the thing you want to evaluate is aiming to achieve you are in a position to complete a piece of evaluation research. In the section that follows there are a number of clearly defined steps that the lone researcher can take to successfully complete a piece of evaluation research.

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How to write an evaluation report Title The title should provide the reader with an indication of the content of the report and any sub-title you use should provide a short-hand description of the issues addressed. Abstract or executive summary The abstract or executive summary is an abbreviated version of the report; a concise synopsis of the main points that the report addresses. An academic evaluation research project published in an academic journal would usually contain an abstract whilst a piece of evaluation research commissioned by an organisation would normally contain an executive summary. The abstract is usually 250 to 300 words in length, whilst an executive summary would normally be 900 to 1000 words. In both cases the summary is useful for people who need to know what your research is about but who are undecided as to whether they need to read it. The summary is also useful for people who do not need to know all of the details within the report but who do need to know the content. In both cases the researcher needs to summarise the main points from the evaluation including the main findings, the rationale or reason for doing the research, the methods of data collection and data analysis used and any recommendations. Introduction In the introduction the researcher has to identify briefly the purpose of the report. Included in the introduction is the rationale or reason for doing the research. There should also be a list of the aims and objectives of the research project, a description of what is being evaluated and the context in which the policy, organisation or initiative that is being evaluated operates. Evaluation in general involves making a judgement about performance against key performance indicators. If your evaluation research project also involves making such a judgement then the performance indicators should be listed in the introduction. The methods of data collection and data analysis In evaluation research researchers are expected to produce valid interpretations of the information collected by the use of a credible and reliable methodology, often using multiple data sources. Provide the reader with a justification for why you chose the methods of data collection and data analysis that you did. This can include a description of the methods used (focus groups, questionnaires, interviews etc.) and an outline of the reasons why you feel these are the most appropriate methods to use. Give an outline of whom you collected data from and details of any sampling from a wider population that you may have conducted with details of the sampling procedure, sampling frame used etc. If you follow Pawson and Tilley’s advice and use a combination of quantitative and qualitative

Writing an evaluation report

methods of data collection explain why you use the combination of methods that you do. If, for example, you choose to use questionnaires and interviews, explain why you used them. Do not give a list of advantages and disadvantages of each method but explain why that combination of methods was the most suitable for the issues you needed to address. A full and clear outline of the methodology used in the report will give the report a feeling of both validity and reliability. Research findings In this section of the report the researcher provides an outline of what information the data collection process has uncovered. It is common to present quantitative data in the form of tables, frequency distributions, graphs and/or charts to support the description of the findings in words. Qualitative data is usually presented in a separate set of paragraphs that make use of descriptive themes with observations made or quotes from respondents to emphasise the most important themes. Analysis and discussion Describe the meaning, significance and implications of the findings. In order to do this effectively you may want to discuss how your findings are similar to or different from other research conducted in similar situations or addressing the same issues. The use of other people’s research to highlight the main points in the discussion will add to the validity of your project. When researchers discuss their findings in relation to other people’s research in the field they have to conduct a literature review and the purpose of the review is to evaluate trustworthy research and draw appropriate conclusions about its meaning and significance. Conclusion The concluding statement includes a summary of what the research has found and is where you draw an appropriate inference; explain how and why your understanding of the meaning and significance of the findings is the appropriate one. It is not uncommon for an evaluation research project to make recommendations in relation to the issues that have been addressed in the research project. Recommendations should be based directly upon the findings presented in the main body of the report and the conclusions of the completed research project and be fully supported by thorough and reasoned analysis. Finally, present a full and complete bibliography.

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Conclusion In this chapter we have looked at the nature of evaluation and evaluation research. In most cases the approach to evaluation research is reasonably straightforward. We look at the aims and objectives of an element (e.g. a policy, programme, person’s role within an organisation or the organisation itself ) and then collect data to make a judgement about how well or how badly the element is performing. The difficult part of evaluation research is trying to explain why performance is good, bad or indifferent and this involves trying to identify those factors (what Pawson and Tilley call mechanisms) that shape performance.

Erica has been asked to write a research project and she does not know what to do! Should Erica consider conducting a piece of evaluation research? Erica understands that qualitative and quantitative methodologies have advantages and for this reason she is considering using a mixed methods approach in her research project. She is still keen on the idea that her research project should take the form of structured ethnography and she cannot wait to say in the methodological justification of her project that according to Johnson and Gray (2010): within a mixed methods approach there should be an emphasis on continua rather than a set of dichotomies; a mixed methods approach involves replacing binaries with continua. This sounds really clever but what does this mean? She thinks it means that in her project it is not the case that there is a simple dichotomy between on the one hand a zoo that has no education and information for visitors on biodiversity and sustainability, and on the other a zoo that changes people who know nothing about biodiversity and sustainability into experts. There is no simple black and white answer to this issue: everything is going to be in shades of grey. She is concerned that her project may not have a clear focus. A piece of evaluation research should give her the focus she is looking for. Her initial reading of the various inspection reports, policy documents and other documentary material should give her a clear idea of what provision zoos should offer. She can write a list of things one would reasonably expect a zoo to offer in order to fulfil its legal obligations. She could then choose one zoo and use the information collected from the inspection reports, policy documents, etc. as the starting point for an instrumental case study in which she will evaluate how successfully the zoo fulfils its obligations. She could conduct a series of structured interviews with zoo employees who do a range of different jobs at the zoo to find out how they interpret the zoo’s

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obligation. The attitudes and opinions of different staff may act as a help or a hindrance to the zoo fulfilling its legal obligations. It would be interesting to find out if the marketing manager has the same interpretation of the zoo’s obligations as the people who directly care for the animals. She can also conduct a questionnaire with visitors leaving the zoo to find out if they feel the zoo has fulfilled its legal obligations and follow this up with in-depth interviews and observations to get an understanding of what people think and feel about the quality of the education and information on biodiversity and sustainability they received during their visit.

Bibliography Davis, D.R., Ellett, C.D. and Annunziata, J. (2002) ‘Teacher evaluation, leadership and learning organizations’, Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 16: 287–301. Guba, E.G. and Lincoln, Y.S. (1981) Effective evaluation, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Guba, E.G. and Lincoln, Y.S. (1989) Fourth generation evaluation, Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Johnson, R. and Gray, R. (2010) ‘A history of philosophical and theoretical issues for mixed methods research’ in A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie (eds) Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research, California: Sage, pp. 69–94. Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G. (1985) Naturalistic inquiry, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Mayo, E. (1949) Hawthorne and the Western Electric Company, The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilisation, London: Routledge. Milgram, S. (1963) ‘Behavioral Study of Obedience’, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4): 371–8. Nevo, D. (1994) ‘How Can Teachers Benefit from Teacher Evaluation?’, Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 8(2): 87–98. Pawson, R. (1989) A Measure for Measures: A Manifesto for Empirical Sociology, London: Routledge. Pawson, R. and Tilley, N. (1997) ‘An Introduction to Scientific Realist Evaluation’, in E. Chelimsky and W.R. Shadish (eds) Evaluation For the 21st Century: A Handbook, London: Sage. Sayer, A. (2000) Realism and Social Science, London: Sage. Smith, S., Sinclair, D., Raine, R. and Reeves, B. (2005) Health Care Evaluation, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Stufflebeam, D.L. (2001) ‘Evaluation Models’, New Directions for Evaluation, 89: 7. Tilley, N. (2010) ‘Realistic evaluation and disciplinary knowledge: applications from the field of criminology’, in J. Vaessen and F. Leeuw (eds) Mind The Gap: Evaluation and the Disciplines, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Worthen, B.R. and Sanders, J.R. (1987) Educational evaluation: Alternative approaches and practical guidelines, New York: Longman.

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15 Successfully completing the research project Introduction Writing up is an important part of the research process. Moreover, if the researcher allows the respondents to comment on drafts and correct statements and/or add material the writing up process can be seen as part of data collection and data analysis. Writing is still the most popular method by which researchers communicate with their academic audience. Research findings do not speak for themselves; it is up to the researcher to communicate the findings in a clear, coherent and persuasive manner. It is for this reason that in the writing up the researcher has to use arguments to persuade the reader that the research project’s findings are valid, reliable and important. Many people do not like the writing up stage of the research process, often because they do not like their voice or writing style: they feel uncomfortable reading their own words in their own voice. One way to get around this issue is to draft and re-draft your work until you feel happy and comfortable with what you have written. This all sounds like very good advice but proof reading, rereading and redrafting your work is time consuming and not very interesting. It may take you one week to read a book and you may mistakenly think that it took the author only a week to write it. This is very rarely the case as even the most experienced of authors have to draft and re-draft their work. Do not feel that using the computer’s grammar check, thesaurus and spell check is a form of cheating because it is not. Word-processing packages provide these facilities in order to help you improve your writing. The grammar check will allow you to use the full range of punctuation forms including the comma, semi-colon, colon and full stop. You also need to think about the readership. If possible you should motivate them to read your research, they have to want to turn the page. But how do you do this? Give some thought to the construction of paragraphs. A well-written paragraph should open with a thesis statement; a sentence that explains the message or the content of the paragraph. The sentences that follow contain the justification for the point made in

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the initial sentence. When you have explained and justified the thesis statement the paragraph comes to an end and a new one begins. If you are doing your research project as part of an assessment your report must meet the assessment criteria. I am always amazed when students do not present a conclusion or bibliography and therefore fail to get all the marks they could have achieved for their work.

The structure of the report There are a number of ways you can present your work but most dissertations have the following structure.

Title page The title of the research project should give the reader a clear outline of the content of the project. This page is also where you give your name.

Abstract The abstract should provide a concise summary of the issue that the research project addresses, the population under investigation, the main methods of data collection and data analysis used. There should also be an outline of the main findings and the conclusions reached. In an assessed piece of work you will be given a word limit for the abstract but 300 words is a common length.

Introduction In the introduction you should provide the reader with an outline of the nature of the study, a brief account of how your research project fits into other research in the area and the approach that you intend to take. You can give the reader an indication of your perspective; are you conducting the research from a feminist, Marxist or postmodernist perspective for example? Is the project an evaluation in which your concluding statement is going to make some recommendations for improving practice? This will provide a justification for why the project is important. A rationale for the study is also something that can be provided in the introduction. The rationale can include your personal reasons for wanting to complete the research project. I like to read personal reflexive statements from authors as this helps me to understand more fully the perspective they are adopting and why.

The structure of the report

Literature review The literature review should provide a critical evaluation of research in the area that you are investigating. It is a good idea to think of the literature review as an essay about your research project in which you outline and evaluate the most important contributions to the research in the area you are investigating. The evaluation should include a discussion of the different theoretical positions adopted by the most influential researchers in the area; any criticism you may have of their work; and the contradictions, flaws and anomalies that the research contains. This will allow you to place your research project within the context of other research in the field. Group information that has a similar theme together and make connections between the works of different authors.

Methodology In this section you need to give a justification for the data collection and data analysis methods you are going to use. The discussion needs to be specifically about your research project. If you have decided to collect data by the use of a questionnaire do not simply list the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires in general. Explain to the reader why a questionnaire was the most effective approach to adopt. This discussion could also include an account of other methods that you could have adopted and the reasons why you chose not to use them. It is also useful to include a justification for the questions that you ask. Explain to the reader why each question has been asked and what data you hope to collect from the answers given. The justification for the choice of questions can make reference to the literature that you have cited in the literature review. Explain what the questions are expected to measure. The discussion will make it clear in the mind of the reader as to how you made the connection between your variables and chosen indicators; in other words how you operationalised your variables. The discussion of your methodology will give the reader the impression that the methodology is both valid and reliable. Many students give a very full definition of validity and reliability in their methodology section. This is not wrong, but it is not always necessary. The purpose of the methodological justification is to explain to the reader that your chosen research methodology is valid and reliable, not that you know how to define validity and reliability. For a research project to be regarded as reliable there needs to be enough information given to the reader about the methods of data collection and data analysis to allow a reader to follow your footsteps and replicate your research project. The methodology section is also the place where you explain your sampling procedure. Explain why you selected that particular group of people to investigate. Explain if you have used a sampling frame, and if you have used a form of random sampling, why you chose the sampling interval you did. Be honest with the reader

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about problems you encountered with the sampling process and how you overcame those problems.

Analysis and discussion of findings The findings are simply what you found out, basically a description of the data collected. The findings can be presented as graphs, tables and/or words. The analysis of the data is a commentary where you interpret and explain the meaning and significance of the findings. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to show how your findings relate to other research in the field. On the basis of your literature review you can probably make some informed predictions of what you are going to find. If you find what you expected to find on the basis of the arguments presented by other, more experienced, published researchers in the field then that is fine. You simply explain that your findings support the findings of researchers X, Y and Z. In contrast, if your findings are completely at odds with such researchers then that is fine as well. Again you have to explain why your findings are so very different from those of other researchers. This is where you as a researcher have to become creative and think of an explanation that justifies the difference in a convincing manner. If you can do this effectively then potentially you could make a new contribution to knowledge. It is more likely that you will find some things you expected to find and some things that you did not expect to find. This will be reflected in the discussion you present. It is also common for the findings to support one group or school of researcher, or one perspective or position, rather than another. Again this should be reflected in the discussion you present.

Conclusions This part of the project is where you get the opportunity to present an answer to the question you have set yourself in the research project. It is common for researchers to give a summary of their main findings. One approach that is useful is to present the aims of the research project that you outlined in the introduction, perhaps as a short list of bullet points, and briefly explain to the reader whether each of them was achieved. If a aim was not achieved, this does not reflect badly on the quality of your work but it does give you an opportunity to explain to the reader the reason. With the value of hindsight, many researchers give a short account of how they would have done the research differently if they were starting the research project again. This allows the researcher to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the research project without being unnecessarily self-critical. This approach will allow you to frame your reflection positively. It is common practice not to include ‘new’ material or additional findings in the concluding statement. Most researchers do not include in the conclusion any statement of fact that has not been included in the main body of the report.

Referencing

Bibliography The bibliography is a full and complete list of all the sources you have cited in the report. The list is alphabetical on the basis of the author’s family name. In terms of books, the author’s family name is followed by their initials, the date of publication in brackets, the title of the book, the place of publication and the name of the publisher. For journal articles, you give the authors’ family names and for co-authored papers/ articles, with each name followed by their initials, date of publication in brackets, title of the paper/article, and name of the journal, volume number, issue number and page numbers. With sources drawn from the internet, you give the authors’ family names and if these are not given you give the name of the organisation that hosts the website where the article/paper is found, date of publication in brackets if known (or the date when you accessed the webpage), title if known, name of the publisher if known and finally the website URL.

Referencing Keep a record of the names of authors, dates, titles, page numbers, publishers and places of publication. All the authors you cite in the report have to be included in a full and complete bibliography at the end of the report. With assessed work, such as a thesis or dissertation, a number of marks will be given for clear referencing and a full and complete bibliography. How do you reference a book? If you report in your own words something that you have read in a book this is known as paraphrasing. The first stage in the paraphrase is to write a passage in one or two sentences that gives an account of what you want to say from the book you have read. After the passage but before the full stop at the end of the sentence you give the author’s family name and date of publication in brackets. At the end of the report you give full bibliographic details of the publication. If you are quoting from a book you need to place a colon (:) at the end of the last sentence before the quotation. After the quote in brackets you give the author’s family name, date of publication and page number followed by a full stop.

Example Social class has had a significant impact on educational outcomes: ‘Over the course of the twentieth century in the United Kingdom the social class background of a child has had a significant impact on examination performance’ (Smith 1999: 34).

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How do you reference a quote that is a quote you have read in a textbook? You follow the same steps as the example above except that within the brackets you need to add cited in and give the family name of the textbook author, date of publication and page number from the textbook.

Example Social class has had a significant impact on educational outcomes: ‘Over the course of the twentieth century in the United Kingdom the social class background of a child has had a significant impact on examination performance’ (Smith 1999: 34 cited in Murphy 2002: 63).

How do you reference a book or journal article written by several authors? Follow the approach above but by convention it is customary to give the family name of the lead author followed by the words ‘et al.’ which is a Latin phrase meaning ‘and others’.

Example So using the example above but this time assuming that Smith is the lead author, your citation should read as follows. Social class has had a significant impact on educational outcomes, as Smith et al. explains: ‘Over the course of the twentieth century in the United Kingdom the social class background of a child has had a significant impact on examination performance’ (Smith et al. 1999: 34 cited in Murphy 2002: 63). In the bibliography you need to give the family names of all the authors of the publication.

You may find that your argument flows better and your voice is clearer if you paraphrase rather than have a succession of quotes. In all assessed work in higher education there will be some marks awarded for referencing and bibliography. It is good practice to look at how authors reference the books and papers they cite. The system I have outlined above is known as the Harvard reference system and this is one of the most common systems to use. The main point is to use only one system in your dissertation or research report. So do not shift from the Harvard reference system, giving the family names of authors and dates of publication in brackets after a quote or paraphrase, to a system of footnotes and endnotes on another page. It is important to reference as clearly as you can because if you do not you may find that you are accused of plagiarism. As you may recall from Chapter 3, plagiarism is a

Where and when to start the writing up

form of intellectual theft in which a person attempts to claim another person’s words and/or ideas as their own. If you engage in plagiarism you will be punished by your university.

Where and when to start the writing up In the introduction to this book several important stages in the planning and execution of any research project were identified: s s s s

DElNETHEPROBLEMYOUWANTTOINVESTIGATE SEARCHTHERELEVANTLITERATURE IDENTIFYTHEMETHODSOFDATACOLLECTIONANDDATAANALYSISTOBEUSED IDENTIFY THE POPULATION TO INVESTIGATE AND THINK ABOUT HOW TO SAMPLE THE population; s REmECTONTHEETHICALCONSIDERATIONSOFTHERESEARCHPROJECTnSEEKETHICALAPPROVAL s DRAWANAPPROPRIATEINFERENCE s PLAN YOUR TIME SO THAT ENOUGH TIME IS ALLOCATED TO WRITING UP AND REPORTING THE STUDY Looking at this list it is clear that you do not have to start the writing up by completing the introduction first and writing up the conclusion last. Moreover you can begin writing up even before data collection has begun. You can start with any section you wish. Many people make a draft of the literature review before they choose the method of data collection in order to see what other relevant research projects have used as the preferred methods of data collection and data analysis. The review will also help the researcher develop a clearer focus about the aims of the research project and what can be achieved. Gaps in the knowledge of the area and anomalies in other people’s research can also generate research questions. Finally, you can look at the justifications given in the literature for the methods of data collection and data analysis that could be used in your project. Look at the sampling procedures used and the justifications given for the sampling process. Importantly, the literature will also give you an insight into how arguments are developed and deployed. Look in particular at arguments you find convincing, try and identify the rhetorical devices used by the authors and the way they present their points. Learn how to write a succinct summary or précis. A shorter, condensed précis is very effective at improving your writing style. This skill will help you to write a better literature review and help you edit your own writing if you are going over the word limit for your report. Also understand the value of the folio. It is possible to make a short statement in one or two sentences that summarises the main point of several pieces of research. The folio is a list of authors and dates of publication that follow that statement in brackets.

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Example ‘In the 1960s it was commonly assumed that the social class position of parents affected performance of their children in the 11+ examination’ (Absent 1964, Smith 1965, Jones 1966, Rose 1967).

This approach has the additional benefit of making your writing read like a continuous text, with one voice and a clear argument rather than a list of short summaries. And all that is left is to wish you good luck!

Index

Abel, T. 121 abstract concepts 81, 241–2 abstracts of research 43, 302, 308 academic journals and journal articles 42–4, 54 action research 10–11, 119–20 active discourse 197 active listening 160 active reading 41–2 actor-network theory 180–1 Adenekan, S. 50 Advertising Standards Authority 69 advocacy 292 agency, human 163, 165 aggregate data 60 Ahn, W. 227 Ainscow, M. 102, 105, 109 Alder Hey Hospital 21, 29–30 Alderson, P. 27 Alfred, Randall H. 150 Ali, Abdula Ahmed 172 Allison, Graham 95, 100 Allport, G. 191 analysis of data 14, 81–4, 107–8, 152–3, 174–5, 310; see also content analysis; conversation analysis; discourse analysis; meta-analysis; narrative analysis; negative case analysis; secondary analysis; thematic content analysis analytic induction 174 ‘analytic strategy’ (Jorgensen) 152 analytical social surveys 258–9 Ang, I. 191–3 Angelides, P. 105 Angell, R.C. 160 Angst, D.B. 60 ‘anthropological strangeness’ 118–19 arithmetic mean 82, 207–9

Aronson, E. 22 assessment criteria for research 2, 41 asynchronous interviews 90 Atkinson, P. 118–19, 127–8, 136 attrition 251 audience research 192 audit 12 authenticity of documents 180 autobiographical research 159–62, 165–8, 175 autobiography collective 160 fabricated 168 auto-ethnography 160 autonomy of research subjects 28 ‘average’, avoidance of term 206–7 axial coding 198 Baldamus, V. 224 Baltes, P. 123 Barker, E. 189, 268 Barthes, R. 184–5, 197 Beauchamp, T.L. 22 Beaulieu, A. 134 Beck, U. 163 Becker, H. 102–3, 160, 268 ‘behavioural maxims’ (Abel) 121 Beilin, R. 195–6 Berelson, B. 185–6 Berger, C.Q. 190 Berkun, M.M. 22 Bernstein, B. 101 Berry, M. 188 Bertaux, D. 165–6 Best, S. 5, 171 Bhavnani, Kum-Kum 10 bias on the part of researchers 76, 78, 82, 86, 91, 106, 111, 144, 148, 278, 292

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bibliographies 53–4, 311–12 Biesta, C.J.J. 272 biographical research 159–69, 175 advantages of 165–6 Blanchflower, David 70 Bloxham, D. 169 Blumer, H. 160, 164, 214 Bok, S. 148–9 Booth, Charles 234, 259 Bourdieu, Pierre 270 Bowers, W.J. 50 Bowley, Arthur 234, 259 brain function 194 Brannen, J. 87 Brewer, J. 140 Brin, Sergey 46 Brinkmann, S. 78 British Crime Survey 63 British Educational Research Association 24–5, 27, 35 British Election Survey 258 British Social Attitudes Survey 69 British Sociological Association 28 Brody, J.L. 21–2 Brookfield, S. 103–4 Brotsky, S.R. 151 Bryman, A. 175, 276 Bulmer, M. 148 Burgess, R. 148, 188–9 Buring, J.E. 226 Callon, M. 180–1 cancer 226–7 Carrier, K. 33 Cartwright, A. 253 case studies 95–112 aim of 98 combined with documentary research 198–9 criticisms of 106–7, 112 purpose of 95–6, 112 styles 98–101 types 97–8 see also negative case analysis Cassell, J. 148 categorisation of data 228 reasons for 214–16

category errors 86 category knowledge 228 Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR) 69 ‘causal adequacy’ (Weber) 121, 142 causal associations and mechanisms 226–8 census data 68 central tendency, identification of 82, 206–7, 211 Chadwick, B.A. 148 Chambers, R. 190 chance occurrences 216–17 Cheng, P.W. 226 children as research subjects 27, 35 Chow, M.Y.K. 274 Cicourel, A.V. 65, 76, 214–15 citations 53–4 ‘civic imagination’ concept 199 Clancy, Tom 289 Clarke, L. 24 classification of raw data 210 closed questions 79–82, 229, 235, 251–2, 257 cluster sampling 238 codebooks 229 codes of conduct for research 19–21, 24–30, 35 ‘codes’ used in communication 181, 184 coding of data 152–3 collective autobiography 160 collective stories 279–80 Collier, J. 193–4 Collier, M. 193–4 ‘communicative discourse’ (Habermas) 197 community, definition of 143 completeness of a text 172–4 completion of a research project 307–14 composite measurement 212–13 conceptual instruments for producing statistics 65 conclusions of research, writing-up of 310 confidentiality 27–8, 35, 89 Connell, R.W. 175 connotative materials 184 consent forms 22–3, 26, 35 construct validity 109 constructivist approach to evaluation 292

Index

constructs 194 content analysis 85, 185–8, 200; see also thematic content analysis ‘context of discovery’ and ‘context of justification’ (Reichenbach) 3–4 contextual pressures on behaviour 121 controlled environments 300 convenience sampling 88 conversation analysis 152 Cook, T. 267 Cooley, C.H. 142 Cooper, N. 122–3 Corbin, J. 198, 276 correlation 226–9 covert research 13, 35, 117, 119, 129, 133–4, 144–50 advantages and disadvantages of 148–9 Cowton, C. 60 Coxon, A. 190 Crain, M.A. 84–5 ‘creative analytic practices’ 277, 280 credibility of documents 180 Crenshaw, M. 173 Creswell, J.W. 110, 269, 273–4 crime statistics 63, 65, 73 critical incident research 103–6 ‘critical realism’ (Sayer) 293–4 Crompton, R. 267–8 crystallisation 277–82 as a methodological framework 281–2 Cuban missile crisis 100 Cullity, G. 29 culture as a system of communication 182 Dallas 191–2 Dalton, D.R. 60 data archives 68–9 data collection 5, 13–14, 28, 34–5, 60, 100, 107, 152, 161–2, 228; see also documentary methods of data collection data protection 25, 27 data sets 63–4 data transformation 215, 268 databases 63 Davis, D.R. 295 Dawes, R.M. 211 De Almeida, M.H. 260–2

Deatrick, J.A. 60 deception in research practice 22, 148–51, 168 Deckert, G.D. 50 deductive reasoning 223 deductive research 3, 270 ‘definition of the situation’ 132 DeFranco, J. 275 degradation of data 215 Delta Airlines 149 denotative materials 184 Denzin, N.K. 96, 161 deontological theories of ethics 28–9 dependent variables 12, 216–17, 298 deprivation 255–6 descriptive case studies 98–100 descriptive social surveys 258–9 deviant data 111 Dewey, John 289 Dewey system of decimal classification 45 dialogical listening 159–60 diary-keeping 188–90, 200 as a method of data collection 189–90 Diesing, P. 152–3 Dingley, James 10 discourse, definition of 129 discourse analysis 129–30, 166 documentary methods of data collection 164, 179–200 Douglas, J. 65 ‘dramaturgical’ work 118 Durkheim, E. 61–2, 64, 179 Earle, S. 133 eating disorders see pro-ana websites eclecticism, methodological 271 Economic and Social Data Service 68, 71 Edgell, S. 248 educational research 11, 119–20, 289–90, 293, 295 Elia, A. 52 elicitation techniques 193–7 Ellington, L.L. 279, 281 Elwood, M. 226 email interviewing 90–1 embeddedness 296 emic perspective 101–2

317

318

Index

emotional labour 149 ‘emotional syllogisms’ 121 empirical probability 217–18 empiricism 293 energisation of practices 131 ‘equivalence of stimuli’ 82 Erben, M. 163 erklären 123 errors random and non-random 110, 218 systematic 210 ethical issues 14, 19–36, 89, 96, 105, 112, 118–19, 127–8, 133–5, 146–50, 169, 175 ethical statements 34–5 ethics ‘creep’ 26 ethics committees 13, 23–4, 26, 35 ethnocentricity 126 ethnographic research 13–14, 19–20, 28, 60, 99, 112, 117–37, 267 authenticity of 125–6 online 133–6 ethnography, definition of 117–18 etic perspective 102 evaluation research 282, 287–304 central features of 291–7 experimental 300–1 formative and summative 289–90 internal and external 290–1 question-oriented and value-oriented 289 reports on 301–3 Expenditure and Food Survey 66–7 experimentalism 292, 297 experiments 297–300 explanation-building 83–5, 99, 108, 112, 189, 198, 226–8 explanatory case studies 100–1 external audit 112 Fabrigar, L.R. 252 face validity 112, 145 facilitators 89 Faden, R.R. 22 Fairclough, N. 130 Falklands War 188 falsification 24 Family Expenditure Survey 66

feeling states 222 femininity 132 feminist research 7, 9–10, 167 Fetterman, D. 127 fiction and fictional characters 124, 129, 167–70, 191–2 field experiments 298 field notes 153–4 field research 126–7 field tests 252 Fieldhouse, R. 164–5 Fielding, N. 77, 277 Fielding, J. 277 Fink, A. 11, 40 Flanagan, J.C. 103 Flaubert, Gustave 124 Fleming, V. 107 Fletcher, Joseph 34 Flick, U. 277 flight attendants 149 focus groups 89 folios 313 Fook, J. 104 Foote Whyte, William 95–6, 98–100, 110, 124 Forester, J. 197 formative evaluation 289 Foucault, Michel 8–9, 129–30, 161, 278 frame problem 187 Freedman, R. 160 frequency distributions 206 frequency of events 217 Freud, Sigmund 162 Friedlander, Saul 280 Fullagar, Simone 7 ‘funnel’ approach to research 87, 243 Gajadhar, J. 50–1 Garfinkel, Harold 95, 160 Garton, L. 134 Gauntlett, D. 192 Gavron, H. 244–5, 248 generalisation empirical and theoretical 162 problem of 169–70 ‘genres of discourse’ (Lyotard) 279 Giddens, A. 162–3

Index

Giles, D. 151 Glaser, B.G. 99, 174, 180, 197 Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) 186–8, 192 Goffman, Erving 31, 118, 120, 124, 141, 282 ‘going native’ 110, 128–9 Goodley, Dan 8 Google 46 Gray, D.E. 249 Gray, J.A. 168 Gray, R. 273 Graydon, Clare 4 Griffin, John Howard 146–7 grounded theory 98–9, 106, 112, 174, 197, 276 Gruber, H.E. 153 Gtunder, T.M. 22–3 Guba, E.G. 292 Guernica 124 Gunter, Helen 11, 40 Habermas, J. 197 Hafez, M.M. 173 Hagger-Johnson, G. 229 Haggerty, K. 26 Hakim, C. 60, 71 Hall, E. 193 Hammersley, M. 127–8, 135–6 Harding, S. 86 Harper, D. 194, 196–7 Harrington, A. 122 Harris, R. 47 Harris, V.W. 83, 89 Harvard system of referencing 52–3, 312 Hawthorne effect 300–1 Heaton, J. 59 Hennekens, C.H. 226 hermeneutics 121 Herrera, D. 150–1 Herzberg, F. 104 heuristic devices 218 Hindess, B. 65 Hinds, P.S. 59 historical data 71 History Data Service 68 Hochschild, R.A. 149 Hodgkin, S. 274

Holocaust research 280–1 Homan, R. 148–9 homosexuality, research on 30–4, 36 Horner, Chuck 289 Howe, K.R. 271 ‘humanistic coefficient’ (Znaniecki) 143 humour research 275–6 Humphreys, Laud 30–4, 36, 119, 145 Hursthouse, R. 29 Hussain, Tanveer 171–2 hypotheses 3, 12, 216 idealism 293 imposition problem 126 imputation 250 independent variables 12, 216–17, 298 index measurement 211–12 indicators, identification of 12, 41–2, 213, 241–2 individualisation, theories of 163 individuals, research focus on 162 inductive reasoning 223 inductive research 3, 270 inference 15, 41, 81, 99, 107–8, 122, 222–30 appropriateness of 228 complete 222–3 deductive 224 definition of 223 descriptive 124–5 inductive 224–5 as informed speculation 140–1 statistical 217 informed consent 14, 20–4, 26, 30, 34–5, 148–51 Institute of Community Studies 234, 240–9, 269 instrumental case studies 97–8 Integrated Household Survey 66 interactive research projects 9, 268 interface, point of 269 internet resources 45–8, 51, 90 interpretation 81–2, 96, 98, 107, 181–8 of other people’s interpretations 175 inter-subjectivity 272 interval scales 221 interview guides 82

319

320

Index

interviews 75–92 breaking off from 251 collaborative 87 ethnographic 127–8 in-depth 75–6, 82–9 group-type 89–90 miner and traveller metaphors for 78 online 90–2 planning for 79–81, 92 potential problems with 76–7 semi-structured 76 structured 75, 81–2, 88 ‘intimate familiarity’ (Lofland) 126 intrinsic case studies 97–8 introspection 142, 222; see also ‘sympathetic introspection’ Islam, Umar 172 iterative approach to research 273 Johnson, B. 273 Johnson, R.B. 268 Jones, G. 267–8 Jordan, A.E. 51 Jorgensen, D. 150, 152–3 journalistic case studies 101 journals on data collection and analysis 111; see also academic journals and journal articles justification of research processes 225, 230 Kallioniemi, A. 86 key words 43–4, 187 Khan, Mohammad Sidique 171 Krosnick, J.A. 252 Kuhn, Thomas 272 Kushner, T. 169 Kuypers, J.A. 190 Kvale, S. 78 Labour Force Survey 66 Labov, W. 170–2 Langdridge, D. 229 language, theory of 182 langue 182 Larroque, L. 252–4 Laslett, B. 87 Latour, B. 181

Lauder, M. 149 Lazarsfeld, P.F. 222 leading questions 189 Leask, B. 50–1 LeCompte, M.D. 134 Lee, R. 34 Leigh, J.H. 252 letters, research on 190–3, 200 Levi, Promo 281 Lewin, Kurt 11 Lewis, Oscar 124 lexical choice 130 library services 43 Lieblich, A. 170, 175 life stories 159–60, 166–9, 175, 190 Likert scales 212, 258 Lincoln, Y.S. 96, 292 Lindsay, G. 20 Lipps, T. 122 listening see active listening; dialogical listening literature reviews 11, 39–44, 54, 60, 81, 109, 152–3, 309 definition of 40 examples of 48 literature searches 14 ending of 47 Lockyer, S. 275–6 Lofland, J. 126 logging of data collection and analysis 111 logistical probability 217–18 London bombings (7 July 2005) 171–3 loneliness, research on 242 Lurie, Alison 110, 129 Lynoe, N. 19 Lyons, A. 275 Lyotard, J.-F. 279 Maas, H.S. 190 McCabe, D. 50 MacIver, R.M. 143 McKenzie, J. 150 McLeod, J. 96 McNamara, K. 276 Madam Bovary 124 Magnet, S. 133 Mahruf, M. 195

Index

Manchester Information and Associated Services (MIMAS) 68–9 marginality in research 127 Marris, Peter 242–4 Martin, C.R. 252 Marx, Karl 179, 270 Marxian theory 7, 16, 187 masculinity 132 Mayo, E. 300 mean see arithmetic mean meaning of documents 180 levels of 184–5 of words 182, 187–8 meaning units 154 measurement as a classification procedure 211 composite 212–13 definition of 216 forms of 211–12 in social science 214–15 use of scales for 220–2 median 207 Merrill, B. 162 Merton, R.K. 160 meta-analysis 69–70 metaphors 125 Metzger, M.B. 60 Milgram, S. 22, 251, 298–9 Miller, D. 186–7 Mills, C. Wright 163 misconduct in research 24 missing data 250–1 mixed-methods research 267–82, 296–7 advantages of 269–70 characteristics of 271–3 disadvantages of 270–1 reasons for use of 273–7 modality in utterances 130 mode 207 moderators 89 Modleski, T. 192 Mollica, Marcello 10 Monette, P. 190 ‘moral career’ concept 102 Morrish, E. 130 Munch, P. 121

Murthy, D. 133–4 mutuality of understanding 126 nacherleben 122 ‘naive empathy’ theory of understanding (Harrington) 122 ‘naive empiricism’ 270 Napier, L. 104 narrative, definitions of 170 narrative analysis 85–6, 106, 159–61, 166–7, 170–5, 179 National Child Development Study 70–1 negative case analysis 111 ‘neurotic narrator’ problem 168 Nevo, D. 289–90 Newson, John and Elizabeth 246–7 newspapers as sources of data 69 Nichols, Bill 199 Nicolaidou, M. 102, 109 nominal scales 220 non-malfeasance, principle of 20 non-response 250–4, 262 first-level and second-level 250 normal distribution 209–10 note-taking 153–4 Nussbaum, M.C. 199 Oakeshott, M. 131 Oakley, Anne 7, 9, 86 objectivity in research 8–10 observation 140–1 in overt research 149 recording of 144 see also participant observation Office for National Statistics 66, 68 Office of Science and Technology Policy 24 Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) 219, 291 official statistics 65–8, 73 O’Kane, C. 27 Olivier, S. 8 ontology 165, 294 open coding 99, 198 open questions 79–84, 229, 235, 251, 257 operationalisation of concepts or variables 12, 81, 213, 216, 230, 241–2 opportunistic sampling 88

321

322

Index

ordinal scales 220 Osterland, M. 168 Page, Larry 46 PageRank algorithm 46 panel studies 251 paradigms 272 parallel mixed designs 273 paraphrasing 53 Park, C. 49–50 parole 182 participant-driven research 11 participant observation 117, 119, 127–9, 139–41, 144–5, 149–55 advantages of 154–5 data analysis for 152–3 definition of 139–40 goal of 141 levels of 140 problems with 144, 155 stages in 141 patient satisfaction, research on 274 pattern matching 41, 108–9 Pawson, R. 215, 295–7 peer assessment 290–1 peer review 42, 45, 111 perspectives 7 Philo, G. 186–8 photographic data 193–8, 200 Picasso, Pablo 124 pilot tests 252 plagiarism 24, 39, 48–51, 54, 312–13 definition of 49 Plano Clark, V. 269 Plummer, K. 160, 164, 169, 174, 190, 197 ‘poetic transcription’ 281 politically-oriented evaluation 288–9 populations studied 14, 236 positioning of the ethnographic researcher 127 of a research project 42 postmodernism 278 poverty, research on 81, 234, 255–6 practice, concepts of 131–4 practitioner research 10, 119 précis 313 premises 224–5

‘presence’, ethnographic 128 pre-tests 252 primary data 59–60 Pringle, R. 279–80 Prior, L. 180 pro-ana websites 134–5, 151 probability 216–19 probability sampling see random sampling probing in interviews 77, 106, 189 progressive–regressive method of analysis 175 prompting in interviews 77, 106, 189 Prosser, H. 70 Pupil Level Annual School Census 72 purposive sampling 89, 240 ‘puzzlements’ 82–3, 153 qualitative interviews 106 qualitative research 19–20, 91, 110, 112, 277 definition of 96 limitations of 165, 274 questionnaires 13–14, 249–50, 262 design of 257 distribution of 254–5 preamble to 255 questions in surveys 235, 248, 252, 255–8, 262 quota sampling 239 quotations, use of 52–3 racism 10 random errors 110, 218 random samples 88, 236–7 with and without replacement 237 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) 288, 297 rank-order questions 257–8 Rapoport, R. 87 rapport with respondents 83, 87, 127 ratio scales 221 rationales for research 5–7, 15 reactivity effects 189 reading see active reading realism in research 292–4, 297 reasoning 223 ‘reciprocity of stimulus’ 249 referencing 52–4, 311–13 reflective practitioners 11

Index

Rei, V.D.G. 260–2 Reichenbach, Hans 3 Reinharz, S. 86 reliability of research methodology 6, 9 replication of research 9 representational measurement 211–12 representative samples 236–8 representativeness of documents 180 research nature of 3–5 reasons for undertaking 4–5 research design 14 research questions 3, 40, 228, 273 restorying 84 retail price index 213 Reynolds, D. 109 Richardson, L. 279–80 right action 30, 35 root mean square deviation see standard deviation Rosenhan, D.L. 146 Rowntree, Seebohm 234, 259 rugby 279–80 ‘rule’, definition of 216 Runciman, W.G. 123–5, 245–6 Rustin, M. 165 Sacks, H. 181 Saltmarsh, S. 50 Samples of Anonymised Records (SARs) database 69 sampling 14, 235–40, 262–3 for interview research 88–9 non-probability type 240 for participant observation 144–5 reasons for use of 236 representative 236–8 sampling fractions 237 sampling frames 88, 237–8 sampling intervals 88, 237 Samuels, J. 194 Sanders, J.R. 288 Sargent, James 70 Sartre, Jean-Paul 175 saturated categories of data 99, 174, 198 de Saussure, Ferdinand 182 Sayer, A. 293–5

scales for attitudinal questions 258 of measurement 220–2, 230 scaling first-order meanings 222 Schatzki, T.R. 132–3 Scheler, M. 122 Scheurich, J.J. 278 ‘scientific parsimony’ 213–14 Scollon, R. 49 secondary analysis 59–73 advantages and disadvantages of 71–2 definition of 60 purposes of 59–60 secondary data, categories of 65–71 Secure Data Service 68 self, sense of 130–1, 160 self-administered questionnaires 249–50 self-consciousness 142 self-evaluation 290–1 semantic differential scales 258 semiology 182–5, 200 sex education 260–2 Shaffir, W. 119, 126, 136 Sharp, K. 133 shooting scripts, research on 197–8 signifier and signified 182–5 signs see semiology Sikes, P. 103–4 similes 125 situated practice 132 situation ethics 34, 36 Slater, D. 133 Smelser, N. 123 Smith, E. 72 Smith, S. 287 snowball sampling 88, 91, 240 social action 118, 122–3, 131, 136, 166, 296 measurement of 214–15 understanding the meaning of 141–3 social class 162–3, 215 social consciousness 142 social networking sites 90, 134 social programmes 295–7 social research, nature of 20, 35, 143, 148, 163, 165, 181, 196, 222, 278 social surveys 234, 258–9 Social Trends 65–6

323

324

Index

socialisation 122–3 society, concept of 224 Sorokin, P.A. 190 Spence, J. 194 sponsored links 46 sponsors for research 88–9 SPSS see Statistical Package for the Social Scientist Spurlock, Morgan 271 stages of a research project 14–15 standard deviation 207–9 standpoint research 7, 10, 16, 168 standpoint theory 293–4 Statistical Package for the Social Scientist (SPSS) 229 Stebbins, R. 119, 126 Stoerger, S. 50 Stones, R. 199–200 Strang, V.R. 60 stratified samples 238 Straus, R. 191 Strauss, A.L. 18–74, 99, 180, 197–8, 276 structuralism 182 structuration theory 162–3 Stryker’s Farm Security Administration 198 Stufflebeam, D.L. 288–9 subjective experience 163, 167 subjective probability 217–18 subjectivity of researchers 278, 280 Durkheim’s study of 61–2, 64 statistics of 65, 73 suicide bombings 171–3 summative evaluation 289–90 supervisors 42–3 Survey Resources Network 68 surveys, planning of 234–5 symbolic interactionism 31, 282 ‘sympathetic introspection’ 142–3 ‘sympathetic reconstruction’ 143 synchronous interviews 90 synechism 273 synergy in research 272 Szabo, V. 60 tabulation 205–6 Tanweer, Shehzad 171–3 Tashakkori, A. 223, 273

Tearoom Trade case 30–4 technical instruments for producing statistics 65 Teddie, C. 223, 273 teleology 28, 34 television news 186–8, 199–200 tertiary understanding 123–5 textbooks 44–5 Thagard, Paul 225–8 thematic content analysis 153–4 theory-building 99 ‘thick’ description 107, 112, 122, 153, 197 Thomas, N. 27 Thomas, W. 163–4, 190–1 Thompson, P. 169 Tilley, N. 291–2, 295–7 time budgets 190 Tolich, M. 28, 35 Townsend, P. 241–2, 255–6 transformation of data 215, 268 transitivity 130 Treseder, P. 135 Trevino, L.K. 50 triangulation 111, 199, 270, 276–7 forms of 106 Trochim, W. 109 trust 89, 105, 119–20 truth, narrative and historical 169 truthful research 5 Tuskegee syphilis study 21, 29 underdetermination 225 unemployment statistics 73 United Kingdom Data Archive 68 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 27 United States 28, 103, 289 validity of research 6, 9, 109–10, 164, 175, 225, 277; see also construct validity; face validity ‘value-free’ research 6, 8, 10, 16 ‘variable’, definition of 216 variables continuous and discrete 221 identification of 12, 41–2, 213 variance 207

Index

veracity of researchers 20 verification of validity in research 110 verstehen 101–2, 120–1, 123, 136, 142, 162–3, 280, 294 Vinacke, W.E. 150–1 virtual communities 133 virtue ethics 29 Vise, D. 46 visual representations and visual methods of research 193–7, 273 Wallace, D.B. 153 Warwick, D. 149 Watts, P. 51 web pages, evaluation of 47 Webb, E. 191, 276 Weber, Max 9, 121, 124, 142, 162, 179, 280 website addresses 64 Wedge, P. 70 Wegener, Alfred 228 Welsh National Opera 118–19 West, L. 162 Wieder, L. 190

Wiesel, Elie 280–1 Wikipedia 48, 51–2 Wiles, R. 19–20 Wilkomirski, B. 168 Williams, Sterling 146 Willis, P. 97–8, 105–7, 111–12, 154, 270 Willmot, Peter 242 Willowbrook hepatitis study 21–2, 29 women, interviewing of 86 women’s subjectivity 167 Woodward, C. 101 Woodward, S. 200 word-processing packages 307 Worthen, B.R. 288 writing-up research 307–14 starting on 313 Yin, R. 95–6, 98, 100–1 Young, Michael 241–2 al-Zawahri, Ayman 171 Zimmerman, D. 190 Znaniecki, Florian 143, 163–4, 174, 190–1

325